Don't Close Your Eyes
by BelleCharityNY
Summary: Belle, Shawn, Chloe, Philip, Brady, Jason and Mimi all are about to expierence changes in their lives--will they be ready?
1. Parts 1 and 2

Don't Close Your Eyes -- by Jennifer  
  
**Chapter One**  
Belle's footsteps echoed through the high school's empty hallways. A slacker passing by smirked at the sight of the perfect student actually being late to a class. Belle turned left and ran smack into someone else, dropping her books all over the hallway.  
  
"Damn!" She said, immediately dropping to her knees to pick up her books. The other person dropped to his knees too, to help her. "Have I ever heard Perfect Girl say such a word?"  
  
Belle looked up and Shawn couldn't help feeling his heart skip a beat...one strand of blond hair was hanging loosely over her eye and he resisted fixing it for her. Belle put the strand behind her ear and smiled. "I can't help it, I'm so late for History."  
  
Shawn helped Belle off the floor as they walked to the end of the hall. "I doubt Mr. Hall will care if your late once in your life. It's only been one minute since the bell rang," he said, opening the door of the classroom for Belle.  
  
"Two minutes, actually, Mr. Brady," said the teacher, giving the two a stern look. A few students rolled their eyes, knowing Mr. Hall was a pushover and would just go back to writing notes on the chalkboard. That's exactly what he did and a couple of students put their heads back on their desks. Belle and Shawn took their seats, and Mimi turned to them.  
  
"So did you two ask your parents?" she whispered.  
  
"Yeah, they were fine with it." Shawn whispered back, excited. He tried to glance over to Belle casually, but he wasn't sure he would want to go if she wasn't. Shawn shook his head...because she was his best friend and it wouldn't be fun without her there. That's all, Shawn, he thought to himself.  
  
"My parents were actually fine with it, also," Belle said, smiling. "I'm bringing Brady, too."  
  
Mimi shook her head. "Chloe will flip."  
  
Belle couldn't help smiling. Chloe and Mimi finally made up after Mimi told Chloe about Jan's plan about operagirl.com, and Mimi even apologized. Now Mimi was actually concerned about Chloe's feelings. "Well, I know she won't be happy, but Brady needs to get out. No one's forcing her to hang out with my brother, anyway."  
  
Shawn nodded. "Exactly. So it's set: me, you two, Brady, Chloe and Philip." He looked down. "And Jason," he mumbled.  
  
"What?!" Belle and Mimi said, not sure if they heard him correctly. The teacher was so lost in his own world of looking for his lost notes on the Vietnam War in his desk that he didn't even notice all the kids in the class were talking. "Did you say Jason? As in Jason Welles?" Mimi asked.  
  
Shawn shrugged. "Um...well, yeah."  
  
Belle grabbed Shawn's wrist and tigthened her grip. "Brady, why--"  
  
Shawn rolled his eyes. "Oh, ow, the pain," he said sarcastically. Belle swatted him on the arm and looked at him with expectant eyes. "Look, Jase isn't that bad since he broke up with Jan. And he has nothing else to do for Spring Break, so I just thought..."  
  
Mimi ran her hands through her brown hair and exhaled. "Whatever. Just don't expect me to hang out with him after he's been such a jerk to everyone."  
  
  
  
Chloe closed her locker with a bang. She giggled to herself, thinking she probably has super-strength from over-excitement. The last bell of the day has rung and now her and the rest of the student body had a week of Spring Break to look forward to. Not to mention that she, her boyfriend, Shawn, Belle and Mimi were flying down to Florida to celebrate the vacation. She hugged her books to her chest. "Boyfriend." Whoever knew Chloe Lane would be using that word? A pit in her stomach erased the smile from her face. She was so nervous that Philip would think the vacation would mean something would happen between the two of them. After all, the teens would be at a condo all by themselves...all of a sudden, two arms were wrapped around her waist and lips were kissing her neck. Chloe heard a familiar, "Hey, baby," be murmured and she felt her knees go weak. She turned to face...her boyfriend.  
  
"Hi, Philip," she said, giving him a quick kiss and taking his hand. They walked down the hall to meet the others at the entrance of the school.   
  
Philip smiled at Chloe, his excitement showing as well. "I cannot wait for this trip. It's going to be great Chloe. You, a condo, beaches..."  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes and looked at Philip. "Beautiful girls in bikinis chasing after my boyfriend."  
  
"Well, there's not a doubt that will happen," Philip laughed as Chloe rolled her eyes again, smiling in spite of herself. "But I only care about one beautiful girl in one certain bikini."  
  
Chloe closed her eyes. Philip helped her with her bathing suit shopping yesterday. Belle and Mimi warned her about going shopping with a guy for swimsuits, but Chloe didn't listen. She should have: most of the day was spent looking for old Aerosmith CD's and sneakers. When the couple finally reached a bathing suit store, Philip of course preferred a skimpy navy blue string bikini with light blue piping. Chloe bought the suit since she had no other opinon to go on and she didn't know what looked good on her and what didn't. However, she wasn't too sure if she was ready to prance around the beach in some Britney outfit.  
  
Belle's voice cut through her thoughts. In fact, it nearly gave her a headache, since it was unnaturally perky at the moment...even for Miss Black. "Chloe! Can you believe it? It's finally Spring Break!"  
  
Chloe laughed and returned the hug that Belle rushed over to give her. "I know! It's going to be amazing. It's going to be the first really fun thing I've ever did." Chloe immediately closed her eyes, realizing how stupid she sounded. She re-opened them when she felt Philip kiss her on the cheek. His dimples set her right at ease again...those things work wonders.  
  
Mimi hugged Chloe too, and then Philip. "I still can't believe this trip is happening. Our parents really must believe we're all golden children. They probably think we're going to sit and do extra credit all week."  
  
Shawn's voice rang out from behind them. "Maybe they all think Perfect Girl will rub off on us." The girl's smiles faded when they saw Jason cheerily walking with Shawn. Philip nudged Jason's arm. "I bet Shawn would be wanting to do some private rubbing with Belle Black here." Philip whispered as Shawn glared at him. Luckily, Belle was too busy glaring at Jason to notice.  
  
Chloe crossed her arms. "Jason. What are you doing here?"  
  
Jason looked down and shuffled his feet. "Well, um, Phil and Shawn here invited me to come along."  
  
Chloe whipped around to face Philip, who immediately put his hands up in defense. "You what?"  
  
Philip grabbed Chloe's hand and cocked his head to the side, which he knew drove her crazy. "Chloe, hon, we just knew that Jas--" Chloe wrung her hand free from Philip's grip. "Oh, no, Philip, don't think you can charm your way out of this, okay? You should have asked me before you invited...him." Jason looked around uncomfortably, suddenly rather wanting to sit at home than spend a week with someone who didn't even want to say his name.  
  
"You would have said no!" Philip protested.  
  
Mimi threw up her hands. "Exactly! Then Jason wouldn't have to come. It's bad enough we have to squeeze Brady in our condo, but now him?"  
  
Chloe spun around toawrds Mimi as Belle bit her lip. "Brady?!" She immediately turned in Belle's direction. "Belle Black, you didn't."  
  
"Chloe! Brady doesn't have anything to do for Spring Break, either! He just wants to get out and have some fun. He'll only be staying with us, I doubt he'll want to hang out with us, though." Belle said at rapid speed.  
  
Chloe nodded her head slowly. "I guess your right. I just don't want Brady to ruin my vacation."  
  
Belle nodded solemnly. "He won't, I promise."  
  
Mimi pointedly stared at Jason. "I don't want anyone to ruin my vacation, either."  
  
"Listen, Mimi, I'll stay out of your way if you stay out of mine. I'll meet you guys at the aiport." Jason said, running over to his car.  
  
"It's a deal!" Mimi yelled after him. "Bye, guys, I'll see you later," she said, with an edge to her tone.  
  
Philip took Chloe's hand, who in turn, glared at him. There's a lot of glaring going on in the past five minutes, Philip thought to himself. "Come on," he sighed. "I'll apologize a thousand times in the car." Chloe nodded briskly as she waved goodbye to Shawn and Belle. Philip opened the car door for Chloe and she climbed in.   
  
"It's ok, Philip, I understand why you invited Jason. As long as I don't have to hang out with him or Brady, I'll be fine. But you better help me pack. I have no idea what clothes to bring."  
  
Philip smirked. "Who said you needed clothes?" Chloe looked down and nervously twisted her hair around her finger. She wiped her palms on her jeans and looked out the window. "Are you ok, Chloe?" Chloe nodded and offered a smile, even though she didn't feel all that great. She looked back out the window and took a deep breath. This trip was going to be interesting, all right. But maybe not the kind of interesting that Chloe wanted.  
  
  
**Chapter 2**  
  
Shawn smiled as he picked up a framed picture of him and Belle from the seventh grade. He was teaching her to play baseball and Marlena thought it was the cutest thing in the world that she just had to claim it as a Kodak moment. Belle was wearing Shawn's baseball cap for luck and Shawn has his arms wrapped around Belle's to show her how to hold the bat. "And you still can't hold the bat right," Shawn said, showing Belle the picture.  
  
Belle looked up from her packing, smiling. Shawn had come over to help her pack after Mimi, Philip and the rest of the gang left school in less than high spirits. "Whatever, Brady. I hit a grand slam that day, remember?"   
  
"Um...no." Shawn said, putting the frame back on the shelf. "What I remember is you getting strikes after strikes. And then you finally got a run in the last inning but you tripped over your shoelaces and landed flat on your face."  
  
"Shawn Douglas! That never happened!"  
  
"Maybe you just chose to block that extrememly embarrasing moment from your memory." Shawn said, smiling crookedly.  
  
Belle swallowed...she always had a weak spot for Shawn's smiles. She chucked a bathing suit at him, shaking off her nerves. "Maybe you chose to block the fact that a girl did better than--"  
  
"Well, well, well, Miss Black. This is quite the bathing suit," Shawn said, holding up the pink string bikini. From what he saw, it seemed rather small...which was alright for Shawn. He tried to cover up a groan deep in his throat when he imagined what Belle would look like in the bathing suit.  
  
Belle crossed her arms. "Oh. I really don't plan on wearing that. It's kind of just there for back-up. It's not really my type of bathing suit, I'm not into the skimpy bikini thing."  
  
Shawn continued to admire the bathing suit. "Well, in my personal opinon, I think you should wear this everyday. And to lunch. And to dinner. And--"  
  
"Shawn!" Belle protested, getting embarrased. She walked over to Shawn and reached for the suit. At the last moment, Shawn held his arm high up, dangling the swimsuit just out of Belle's reach. "Oh, come on, Shawn, I'm not going to jump for it."  
  
Shawn smiled down at Belle, who stood on her tip-toes in vain. "I beg to differ, shortie. You know, maybe you can ever wear this to breakfa--"  
  
"That's it, Brady!" Belle shouted before she could start blushing. She jumped up and grabbed the bathing suit a little too hard. Shawn wasn't expecting her to jump and lost his balance, falling backwards. He grabbed Belle's waist on instinct and the two fell back on her bed. Belle gasped a little when she realized how close she was to Shawn...and that his arm remained around her waist. Shawn, meanwhile, kept trying to think of college basketball, instead of the fact that Belle was lying on top of him while they were alone in her bedroom. Shawn stared into Belle's eyes and immediately couldn't think straight. For the past year, he has been getting all these thoughts about Belle that he never had before...he dreamed about her and thought about her constantly. Shawn always knew Belle was special, caring and loving...but lately, he's been seeing something else about his best friend. Something that he can't deny anymore, even if he can't name what that something is. But was he just confusing friendship for...love? Could he really be in love? Could--  
  
"Shawn?" Belle whispered. The whisper cut his thoughts short. In that whisper, he heard confusion and almost--yes, desire. Or was that just wishful thinking? He swallowed and closed his eyes. "Yeah?"  
  
Just then, the door swung open. "What the hell is going on here?" Belle and Shawn turned their heads to see Brady, who has been crutch-less for a month now, standing in Belle's doorway with a look of rage on his face. Shawn immediately rolled Belle off of him...but misjudged the width of Belle's bed. Belle rolled right off the bed and smack onto the floor. "Ow! Shawn!"   
  
"Oh..uh...I'm sor--sorry. Um...yeah." Shawn stammered, not taking his eyes off Brady.  
  
Brady helped Belle up and she stepped in front of him, blocking his view of Shawn. "Brady, I just fell on him, okay? That's all."  
  
Brady easily could see Shawn, who was now off the bed, over Belle's shoulder. "Shawn? You better not be doing anything stupid. Because I swear, she's still only in high school...and I know how high school guys think."  
  
Shawn dug his hands in his pockets, and clenched his teeth. He wasn't worried that Brady would do anything...he had a feeling Belle's brother believed her. Now he was just mad that Brady interrupted something--was it something? Shawn's head started to hurt...he just wish he knew how Belle felt. "Um, no, Brady. I'm stupid-free."  
  
Brady smiled. "All right, man. Let's keep it that way, all right?" Belle sighed and went back to her suitcase. She looked over her shoulder and caught Shawn's eye for a couple of seconds. Belle broke the gaze and concentrated on the terribly interesting luggage. She got flustered thinking about how close she was to kissing him. "Anyway," Brady continued, "do you have your suitcase here, Shawn?"  
  
Shawn nodded. "It's in my car, I got it before coming over here with Belle."  
  
"Good. So let's get moving, little sis, we have to leave in ten minutes," Brady warned, leaving the room and closing the door. A couple of seconds later, the door opened again. "We'll just leave this open," Brady said, and walked back to his room.  
  
Belle's bedroom was full of silence as she closed the last of her suitcases. Shawn finally gathered up his nerve. "Belle? What just--?" He was cut short when suddenly an armful of luggage was dumped on him.   
  
"Let's go," Belle chirped, grabbing the other suitcases. She didn't want to talk about the almost-kiss...she didn't want to find out that she wanted something that Shawn didn't. She has had feelings for him for as long as she could remember. Belle did everything she could to lie to herself...she could never deal with being rejected by Shawn and having to work through an awkward friendship because of it. But Shawn wasn't like any other guy she knew...he was...different. He knew when she needed to talk or when she didn't want to and just needed a hug. Shawn knew how to make her laugh and knew every little like and dislike she had. But the only thing Shawn didn't know was how right she was for him.  
  
Shawn followed Belle downstairs, struggling to see over the mountain of luggage. "You know we're only going to be gone a week right?"  
  
to be continued...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Parts 3, 4 and 5

**Chapter 3**  
  
Philip sighed dramatically and pulled the car into a half-empty parking lot. He turned and looked at Chloe.  
  
"Philip? What are you doing? We're going to miss our flight!"  
  
"We're not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong. I want this trip to be perfect for you, and so far, everything is weird and we didn't even get to the airport yet."  
  
Chloe shook her head and swallowed. She wasn't good at lying, but she'd give it a shot. "Philip, I told you a thousand times since we left the school...I'm fine."  
  
Philip looked out his window for a minute and Chloe shifted in her seat uncomfortably. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned back to Chloe.  
  
"Philip!" He sighed and put his hand over her mouth. Chloe rose her eyebrows and Philip couldn't help smiling. Even when she couldn't speak, Chloe still found a way to show her opinion and always found a way to show she was angry. "Chloe, are you mad at me for inviting Jason to Florida?"  
  
Chloe removed Philip's hand from over her mouth and kissed it lightly. She then kissed him on the lips. "No," she whispered. "I told you, I'll just avoid spending any time with Jason...or Brady."  
  
Philip nodded as Chloe continued. "I'll show you what's wrong," she stammered. Butterflies pounded in her stomach as she grabbed Philip's face with both hands. She pressed her lips against his, light at first until both of them grew hungry for more. When Chloe allowed Philip's tongue entrance, she heard a groan deep in his throat. Chloe knew she had to breath, but she couldn't pull away. Soon, Philip finally did, gasping for air.  
  
"Chloe...that was amazing. Please don't tell me your upset because you think your a bad kisser." He pressed his forehead against Chloe's. "Because I personally know that is far from the truth."  
  
Chloe pulled away from Philip. "No...I...Philip, I feel...different with you." She couldn't help giggling at Philip's adorable puppy dog face.  
  
"Different? Did I do something wrong?"  
  
"No!" Chloe almost shouted. "No...Philip, please don't even think that. You do nearly everything right. What I meant to say is that, I'm scared of myself when I'm with you. I'm scared I might lose control when we kiss...I get so caught up in it...and I don't want to do something I'm not ready for. I never opened myself to someone as much as I have to you. You're my everything, Philip. You're my heart and...even when you're not with me, I still feel you, Philip. I--I love you. And I don't want to mess that up by losing control."  
  
Philip opened his mouth slightly. No one ever said anything like that to him before. He leaned towards Chloe and kissed her tears that ran freely down her face. "I love you, too. But you don't have to worry, Chloe. I know why you were upset a few minutes ago. You're scared something may happen in Florida." Chloe nodded, closing her eyes, and Philip put his hand under her chin and lifted her face. "Open your eyes, Chloe. I will never push you. I'm not going to lie, I want to be with you--I want to make love to you. But if it's sex or you, I choose you, Chloe. You turned my life upside down...and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. You showed me life is more than what I ever thought it was. You are a beautiful woman who is even more beautiful on the inside, if that's possible...and that's rare, Chloe. So please don't think I'm going to throw that all away for one night."  
  
Chloe couldn't even see Philip's face, her vision was so blurred. She vainly tried to wipe away her tears but there were too many. "Thank you, Philip. I love you."  
  
Philip took her hand and kissed it, just like she did minutes ago. "I love you too."  
  
Chloe suddenly began laughing.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Belle's going to kill us...look at the time."  
  
"Damn it! We're going to be so late if I don't haul ass," he murmured, pulling out of the parking lot.  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes. "When don't you speed?"  
  
Philip laughed. "How could you not speed in this beauty?" He said, patting the steering wheel lovingly as Chloe rolled her eyes for the hundredth time that day. She smiled as she looked out the window...maybe this vacation will be perfect after all.  
  
**Chapter 4  
**  
"Where are they?" Belle shrieked, throwing her carry-on bag down on the floor in frustration.  
  
"They still have ten minutes until boarding, Belle. Just chill." Jason said, picking Belle's bag up for her. As soon as he picked it up, his arm nearly fell out of his socket from the heaviness. "Damn, Belle, did you pack your entire house?"  
  
Shawn rubbed his shoulder, which was still sore from carrying Belle's luggage. "Aw, Jase, your turning into a lightweight. That's just her make-up and hair stuff. At least you didn't have to deal with the wardrobe."  
  
"Ha, ha," Belle said sarcastically, only half-listening. She scanned the airport again, but there was no sign of Philip and Chloe. She turned back to Jason and Shawn and smiled in spite of her worry. Shawn, Belle and Brady got to the airport extremely early, as did Jason. After spending time with him as they waited for boarding to be announced, Belle was surprised of different Jason acted when Jan wasn't permanently attached to him. He was funny and even really sweet. Belle never thought she'd enjoy Jason Welle's company until today. She looked over at Mimi, who arrived five minutes ago. Mimi was talking to Brady and shooting looks that could kill at Jason. She guessed Mimi didn't hop onto the Jason bandwagon yet.  
  
"Look!" Belle screamed, pointing to an opening elevator. The people surrounding them turned to stare at Belle, who was shrieking and running towards the elevator. Shawn put his finger next to his head and twirled it in a circle a few times. The crowd nodded sagely as Jason stifled his laughter.  
  
"Philip! Chloe! Where were you guys?!" Belle shouted, dragging the couple by the hands over to the rest of the gang.  
  
"Belle, your going to make me deaf before I turn seventeen," Philip complained, struggling to keep up with Belle's pace. They finally reached the gang and hugs were exchanged...Jason stood off to the side when Chloe arrived and Brady crossed his arms with a smirk on his face. Philip, Shawn and Belle decided to go get food for the gang while they waited for the plane and Mimi stupidly went to the bathroom, leaving Chloe with Jason and Brady.  
  
Brady sat in a chair, never taking his eyes off Chloe. Chloe saw him in the corner of her eye and tried her best to ignore him. Jason took the oppurtinty to approach Chloe and she gave him a look that clearly said, "Stay away." Obviously Jason was as dense as he looked because he kept walking towards her anyway.  
  
"Ch--Chloe," he said, shuffling his feet. "Um...look. I know you probably hate me and once we get on the plane, you probably are going to be fighting the urge to throw me off of it--"  
  
Chloe crossed her arms. "Something like that."  
  
Jason looked up nervously and then went back to studying the amazing lint on the carpet beneath him. "Um..well...I was a horrible person, Chloe. I really was. But I want to change things. I've heard about what a great person you are from Phil and Shawn and I want to find that out for myself...if you'll let me. I realized what a jerk I was when I was with Jan. I was just so used to being with her that I acted that way so I wouldn't lose her...she was my only friend, Chloe. But I want to be your friend now."  
  
Chloe laughed bitterly. "Don't go and try to make me pity you, Jason. Don't talk to me about not having any friends. It was partially your fault that I didn't have any friends when I first came here! You were such an ass to me, Jason."  
  
Brady stood up and joined Chloe and Jason, talking rapidly as he approached them. "Goddammit, Chloe, Philip was part of that reason too. You forgave him in a hurry. Maybe that was just because you wanted a puppy dog to follow your every move...someone to lie and say your singing was actually good. Someone who actually cared about you. You never had that before, did ya, Chl--" His last word was cut off by a hard slap to his face. Chloe ran off to the bathroom to find Mimi and Jason turned to face Brady with his jaw clenched.  
  
"Gee, thanks, Brady. Knew I could count on you."  
  
The intercom pierced through the room. "Flight 1103, for Southwest Airlines, arriving in Daytona, Florida, will be boarding now."  
  
**Chapter 5  
  
**Belle opened the overheard luggage department and tried to lift her carry-on over her head. She groaned as she couldn't lift it any higher than her waist.   
  
"Shawn Brady, why did you let me pack this much stuff?" she asked him, who was already sitting in the window seat.  
  
"What?! You nearly tore of my arm with your bare hands when I tried to take some of the stuff out of your carry-on." Belle sighed and tried to lift the bag again, with no luck. "I told you not to pack so much."  
  
Belle exhaled in frustration, "Shawn, I'm going to chuck this bag at your head if you don't shut up."  
  
Brady, who was sitting next to Mimi in the seats in the middle of the plane, rolled his eyes. "They should just shut up and make out so we wouldn't have to listen to them talk anymore. She's giving me a headache." Mimi giggled, happy that the comment didn't even bother her since she's been over Shawn for months now, and Brady looked over at her, smiling. "You know, Meems, you look really pretty today."  
  
Mimi looked up in surprise and immediately grew flustered. "Oh..uh...um, I guess. I mean, thank you."   
  
Jason flopped down on the seat to Mimi's right. "Yeah, she looks all right."   
  
Mimi snapped her head towards Jason's direction and crinkled her nose. "Jason, nobody asked you to talk. Why don't you do what you always do? Sit there and look stupid until Jan comes and gives you her command...then you can go off and do it like a good little dog."  
  
"Well, well, if you want to talk lapdogs, why don't we bring up Belle? I'm surprised your not melting away...after all, you're not your required two centimeters away from her."  
  
"Oh, God. Two hours of this and I'm going to kill myself," Brady muttered.  
  
"If you need any help, I'll be glad to offer it," Chloe retorted to him, as she and Philip took the seats behind Brady, Mimi and Jason.  
  
"Chloe, just relax," Philip whispered in her ear. "Remember, if you just ignore him, he'll eventually leave you alone. So don't egg him on." Chloe nodded.  
  
Meanwhile, a line of people filed behind Belle, waiting for her to put her bag in the overhead compartment so they could get to their seats.  
  
"Hey, can you please hurry up here?" someone shouted out.  
  
"Shawn," Belle said frantically. "Please help me, this is embarrassing."  
  
Shawn shook his head and put on his headphones. "Sorry, Perfect Girl. I tried to help with your packing, but I was almost tragically injured. You're on your own."  
  
"Shawn!" Belle shouted, and Shawn couldn't help laughing at Belle's panic--she probably thought the line of people were going to trample over her soon. He laughed even harder when a flight attendant helped Belle with her bag and asked her to quickly take her seat. Shawn was dying by the time everyone gave Belle dirty looks as they passed. Belle covered her face in her hands. "I hate you, Shawn."  
  
"Ah, come on, Belle. It was classic. 'Shawn! Please help me!'"  
  
Belle hit Shawn's shoulder, laughing in spite of herself. "I don't even know why I'm friends with you," she said jokingly.  
  
"Well, you just can't resist my body."  
  
"Oh, yeah, thanks for reminding me," said Belle, her voice dripping with sarcasm.  
  
"Hey, um, Belle?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I--Well, I--" Shawn cleared his throat. Shawn Brady doesn't get nervous, what was going on? Calm down, man, he thought to himself. "I was just thinking, um, who's going to room with who?" He knew there were three double rooms and one single at the condo. He knew Jason and Brady would be sharing one room...the Reject Room, as they called it...and Philip and Chloe would have another. Shawn was hoping deep down Mimi would claim the single, leaving him and Belle with a room all to themselves.  
  
Belle looked up at the plane's ceiling as she thought. "Um...well, Philip and Chloe are going to share one room."  
  
"Really? Chloe's cool with that?" Shawn said, pretending to be surprised.  
  
Belle bobbed her head up and down and Shawn smiled to himself. She was so cute. "Yeah, she told me as long as nothing serious happened, she'd be fine with it. And Philip won't push her to do anything, he's too much of a knight-in-shining-armor type of guy. You know the type...riding white horses, kissing her hand, helping her put her luggage in the overhead..." she trailed off, smirking. The two buckled their seatbelts as the plane lifted off.  
  
Shawn laughed. "Okay, okay, I apologize, mi-lady." He took Belle's hand and kissed it lightly. Belle felt her heart pound and tore her gaze away from Shawn. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest when she realized Shawn kept holding her hand even after he finished kissing it. "There...I just don't have the white horse," he whispered, and began rubbing Belle's hand with his thumb.  
  
Belle let herself drown in Shawn's brown eyes and forgot about everyone around them. "You don't need the white horse...you're...you're perfect." Shawn looked up in surprise, forgetting his suggestion to get him and Belle in the same room.  
  
"Even for a Tough Boy?"  
  
"Y--Yes. Shawn--I...I want to tell you something." This is it, she thought. If I don't tell him now, I'll never have the courage later. Just say it, Belle. Shawn swallowed a lump in his throat...he never felt so nervous. "What is it, Belle?"  
  
"Hey, Tinkerbelle!" Brady's voice cut through the moment. Shawn dropped Belle's hand, surprised by the interruption and Belle bit her lip. She slowly turned to Brady with a look that could kill. "What, Brady?" she said tensely.  
  
"You have some toilet paper stuck on your shoe!" he nearly shouted. Some people turned around to stare at Belle and Shawn tried not to smile as Belle squirmed. This trip wants me to die of embarrassment today, she thought as her face turned red. Since the seatbelt light was off, she undid the belt and took the piece off her shoe. Belle walked to the back of the plane where the garbage bag was, smacking the back of Brady's head as she went.   
  
"What? I was just warning you before anyone noticed!"   
  
Shawn slumped back in his seat, dejected. What was Belle going to say before Brady's big toilet paper announcement?  



	3. Parts 6 and 7

**Chapter 6**  
The plane began its landing and Mimi grabbed onto Brady's hand, and then Jason's on instinct. She hated landing, it was always so rocky and uncomfortable. Jason gave her a look and flung her hand off, rolling his eyes. Mimi looked back and glared at Chloe over her seat, who shrugged. During the flight, Jason had moved over to the empty seat on the other side of Chloe and tried apologizing again. Mimi closed her eyes as she remembered overhearing the conversation.  
  
_"Chloe, I'm so sorry. You have to believe me. Phil, tell her I used to be a great guy before hooking up with Jan."  
  
"Yeah, whatever, great guy..." Philip mumbled, more than half-asleep. He snored loudly and Chloe laughed. Here was the sophisticated BMOC Philip Kirikias snoring like an old man and with spot of drool on his shirt.  
  
Jason smiled. "Okay, well, Kirikias is too busy dreaming of owning his own private jet to help me out here. But I really was, Chloe. And then Jan Spears came along and I was fascinated with her. I lost all my friends because I spent every living minute with her. And I played her little reindeer games because I was scared, Chloe. I was scared what might have happened to me if she dumped me. I regret every second I spent with her...I hurt so many people and she wasn't worth it. Chloe, I really am sorry. I want to make up for all the pain I caused you. Can I please be your friend?"  
  
Chloe sighed deeply, unsure what to do. She decided to give Jason one more chance. If he was speaking the truth, it would make the trip less tense...and it never hurts to have another friend. If he was just pulling her leg...well, she'd figure out a way to make him pay, just like she did with Jan months ago. "Yes, Jason. I forgive you."  
  
_Mimi opened her eyes as the plane came to a stop. Maybe Belle, Shawn, Phil, Brady and even Chloe could find it in their hearts to forgive Jason, but she wouldn't. Jason never made an effort to be nice to Mimi, even after he broke up with Jan. She couldn't figure out why Jason was being all sugary sweet with everyone in the gang except for her. But if that's the way Jason wanted to play, Mimi wouldn't let him get to her.  
  
Brady leaned towards Mimi and whispered in her ear, "What are you thinking?"  
  
Mimi looked over at Brady and smiled. She had a great time sitting next to Belle's brother on the plane. He had cracked her up for the two hours they were in the air and reassuringly squeezed her hand seconds ago when the plane landed. "I'm just so excited about this trip."  
  
Brady nodded, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Me, too. I can't wait to make every Daytona girl's dreams come true," he joked.  
  
"Oh, is that so?"  
  
"Sure. Once they see this," he said, flexing his arm muscle, "they'll forget all about Justin Timber-whats-his-face--"  
  
"Timberlake," Mimi answered matter-of-factly, trying not to admire Brady's muscles.  
  
"That too."  
  
Jason laughed. "Dream on, Black. You're gonna have some competition on your hands." Jason flexed his arm muscle as well. Mimi turned away from Jason...she pushed down the feeling of attraction she felt. So he's cute--ok, handsome--fine, gorgeous, she thought as Brady and Jason talked about exercising. And muscular. But that doesn't change the fact that he's a complete ass, Mimi thought to herself before stealing another glance at Jason's arms. No, stop it girl! she screamed in her mind. She closed her eyes in confusion. Jason was like Twinkies...they look so good...but you know they're bad for you.  
  
**Chapter 7  
**  
"Phew," Brady said, letting out a low whistle. The teens just arrived at the condo and Philip opened the door. The place was huge, with a beautiful living room and a large kitchen. They guessed the bedrooms were upstairs.**  
  
**"Watch out, Black!" Belle said, pushing past her brother while dragging her luggage. One bag hanging from her shoulder hit Brady in the stomach and he groaned in pain.  
  
"Glad to know you didn't forget your rocks, Tink," Brady muttered.  
  
Belle threw down her bags on the living room floor. "OK, ha ha, I have a lot of heavy bags. Did everyone get in their 'Gee, Belle sure packs a lot' jokes for the day?"  
  
"I didn't, but I'll be sure to catch up on that," Philip said, affectionally messing up her blonde hair as he walked past him. Chloe followed him and took his hand. "Wanna check out the rooms?" she asked and Philip nodded. The couple walked upstairs as Shawn and Jason headed straight for the fridge.  
  
"Dude, they even gave us free food!" Jason said happily.  
  
"Nah, that's Kirikias-paid. He covered everything yesterday," Shawn said, looking over the contents of the fridge.  
  
"Nice," Jason nodded. The two looked over as Belle and Mimi giggled loudly in the living room. Brady was wrestling the both of them, having an easy advantage even though it was two against one. Belle wriggled out of Brady's grasp just as he pinned Mimi. Brady looked down at her and smiled crookedly. Mimi gave a nervous half-smile and caught Jason looking at her from the kitchen in the corner of her eye. She blinked and Jason was back at staring in the fridge. Still under Brady, a handsome guy who looking into her eyes, all she could think about was if someone she hated was really staring at her.  
  
  
Chloe giggled as she jumped up and down on the bed. Philip laughed at her and grabbed her wrists from the floor, catching her off-guard. She tumbled to her knees and bounced twice on the floppy mattress and cracked up at her clumsiness.   
  
"Geez, Chloe, I never saw you so giddy before," Philip said, grinning.  
  
"I know...I'm just so excited. The thought of being away from Nancy for an entire week must be getting to my head."  
  
"I think it's adorable," Philip muttered, tracing her lips with his finger as he sat on the edge of the bed.  
  
Chloe pressed her forehead against Philip's and tried to ignore her pounding heart.  
  
"Philip, being away from Nancy isn't the only thing that I'm happy about. Just being here with you. Knowing that you love me as much as I love you."  
  
"I do...and I can't wait to be alone with you tonight, Chloe. To hold you and to have you be the first thing I see when I wake up. I can't wait," he whispered. He leaned in to kiss Chloe and she turned her head away, so his lips landed squarely on her cheek. "Chloe? What--?"  
  
"Um...we should get back downstairs with the others," Chloe murmured. Before Philip could say another word, she was already out the door. Philip stared at the door before repeatedly banged his head down on the mattress in confusion. Eventually, he gave the mattress a rest and went downstairs.  
  
  
"Dude, what happened to your hair?" Shawn asked as Philip joined the gang in the living room. Philip quickly fixed his hair and shrugged, not wanting to share that he beat up the bed with his forehead.   
  
"We're trying to decide who gets which room," Chloe offered. When Philip sat next to her on the couch, she lovingly took his hand and placed her head on his shoulder. Philip sighed...what was going on with her?  
  
"Well," Philip said, clearing his throat. Maybe she really just wanted to get back downstairs to get the picking of the rooms over with. Things will be different tonight, he convinced himself. Philip didn't expect sex from Chloe...but he knew she wouldn't reject his kisses once they were settled in. "Well, Chloe and I call the one in the corner, overlooking the beach."  
  
"Who says you can have the one overlooking the beach?" Belle complained.  
  
"Well, seeing as how I paying for most of this, I say we can," Philip retorted back. Belle gave him a look and Philip assured her there was another double upstairs overlooking the beach.  
  
"Welles and I will take the other double, then. We don't need a romantic sunset," Brady said.  
  
"Ah, come on, Brady. You know you can't resist me," Jason joked as the room laughed...Mimi rolled her eyes, refusing to laugh at anything Jason said.  
  
"Um...unless you magically turn into Christina Aguilera one day, it ain't happening, bro," Brady joked back.  
  
"Well," Shawn said, clapping his hands together. "That leaves one double and one single left."  
  
Brady nodded. "Right. Belle and Mimi take the double and you take the single."  
  
Shawn bit his tongue lightly before protesting. He totally forgot--like Belle's older brother would really let him sleep in the same room as her. But Shawn couldn't let this week of opportunity pass him by. As he grew lost in his thoughts, Mimi glanced over at Belle and then Shawn, both who were looking down at their feet. Mimi smiled and decided to play hero.  
  
"Actually, Brady, I would rather have the single."  
  
"What?" Belle and Shawn said together hopefully.  
  
"Um, well, I talk in my sleep, as Belle knows," Mimi lied, stealing a knowing glance with Belle, "and she never gets any sleep whenever I stay over in her room."  
  
"Well," Brady said through clenched teeth, "she'll just be really tired all week."  
  
"But, Brady, um, if Mimi and I stay in the same room for a week, we'll probably end up killing each other. I'm a neat freak and she's messy, I like quiet, she likes music. It just wouldn't work," Belle said.  
  
"So it's set," Mimi nodded. "I'll take the single...and, um, I guess Belle will have to room with Shawn." Shawn tried to hide a huge grin that was bound to spread on his face, so he spoke up. "Um, let's go put our bags in our room, Belle." Belle nodded and sprinted up the stairs, despite the weight of her luggage. Before Shawn could follow, he felt a heavy hand pull him back by the shoulder.  
  
"Look, Shawn. You better not try anything or I'll personally make sure that your head finds a comfy spot up your ass."  
  
Shawn swallowed nervously. "Well, I wouldn't want that to happen," Shawn squeaked out.  
  
"No, no, you sure wouldn't."  
  
"Don't worry, Brady. Belle and I--we're just friends."  
  
"Good. Cuz I don't want Belle dating any loser until--oh, no offense--"  
  
"Offense taken, man."  
  
"Well, I didn't mean you're a loser. I meant any guy that dates her will be a loser because I know what will happen. Belle will be too loving and too trusting, and she won't put out and the guy will dump her. Therefore, reaching loser-dom. That's why I refuse to let Belle have a serious boyfriend until she's eighteen. Then I know she'll understand guys more and she'll be less vulnerable."  
  
"Well, what if the guy really loved her? I mean, before she's eighteen. What if he didn't dump her? And besides, Belle's too independent to follow that...your not her dad, Brady."  
  
Brady looked confused for a second before shaking his head. "Whatever, the rule stands."  
  
"But--"  
  
"Look, Shawn, you have nothing to worry about if you're just her friend. Don't touch her and you don't die. Simple enough, right?"  
  
"Uh...yeah. Right."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
**  
  
  
  
  
  
**


	4. Parts 8 and 9

**Chapter 8**  
  
Chloe closed the last of the drawers and sighed. "God, I hate unpacking."  
  
Philip looked down at his bags, still closed and untouched. "That's why you should stick to the Kirikias form of unpacking."  
  
Chloe crossed her arms and smiled. "Just pulling whatever you want to wear for the day   
out of your bag and then throwing it on the floor later?"  
  
"Exactly. Easy. Simple. Practical."  
  
"Wrinkled."  
  
"Well, seeing as how I plan to be wearing my bathing suit for practically this entire week, I really don't mind have wrinkly clothes."  
  
Chloe was only half-listening since she was staring out the sliding glass door. "Philip..." she whispered.  
  
"What? What's wrong?" Philip jumped off the bed and ran to Chloe's side.  
  
"The sunset," she said softly. "It's...I never saw anything so amazing before." She slowly walked over to the sliding glass door and opened it, stepping out onto the balcony. There was a light breeze and Chloe took her hair down from her ponytail. The air lightly tossed Chloe's hair off her shoulders and she closed her eyes. The vision took Philip's breath away. Wearing her white sundress, Chloe Lane looked like an angel.  
  
"Yeah, amazing..." He whispered. Chloe turned to face Philip with tears in her eyes. "Chloe! What's wrong?" He was by her side in a second and grabbed her hand.  
  
"Philip--I...I need to tell you something."  
  
"What is it, baby?"  
  
"Please...Philip, please, don't call me that. It'll make this so much harder."  
  
Philip all of a sudden felt nauseous and very afraid. His throat grew dry and he choked out the words, "Make what so much harder?"  
  
Chloe opened her mouth when there was a knock on the door. "Um...come in."  
  
Mimi opened the door with an excited smile on her face. She was wearing a one-piece red bathing suit. "Ready?"  
  
"Ready for what, Mimi?" Philip snapped, suddenly in a very crabby mood.  
  
"We're all going down to the beach, remember? You said you'd be down after you finished packing." Philip rolled his eyes and sighed irritably. "I guess going through male-PMS distracted you, huh, Philip?"  
  
"Mimi..."  
  
She continued in good nature. "I have some Midol in my room, just let me know if you need some," she teased.  
  
"Shut up, Mimi!" Philip exploded and Mimi stood there with a wide-eyed expression on her face.  
  
"Um...We'll be at the beach in a minute, Meems, we just have to get changed," Chloe said quickly.  
  
"Yeah, okay," Mimi said. "Good luck with Phil," she muttered under her breath as she left the room.  
  
"Philip! What is wrong with you?"  
  
"Me? Here you are in tears about to tell me some big thing and she storms in here making her dumb jokes." Philip said rapidly, hoping Chloe didn't know he was lying. He was really just scared Chloe was breaking up with him and just wanted to get Mimi out. But why would Chloe break up with me?, he thought. Everything is...perfect. Isn't it?  
  
"Look, um, we should get changed and join everyone before they start to worry," Chloe said. She got her bathing suit and started to walk out the room. "I'll change in the bathroom and meet you downstairs."  
  
"Chloe, wait! What were you going to tell me?" But she was already gone. Philip screamed in frustration and stormed over to his luggage. He opened the bag with such force he almost tore off the zipper. Philip clenched his jaw and vowed to figure out what was up with Chloe before the night was over.  
  
**Chapter 9  
**The four guys watched as Belle and Mimi tried to teach Chloe how to do a cartwheel in the sand. They clapped as Chloe successfully did one...until she landed on her butt.   
  
"Nice try, Chloe," Brady offered. Chloe gave him a strange look...he's been nice to her ever since they arrived at the condo. It turned out Belle and Brady had a long talk about Chloe while everyone was unpacking. Belle convinced Brady that if Jason and Chloe could be friends, then so could him and Chloe. Brady agreed to try and make nice with her, so everyone could have a good time on the trip and not worry about a blow-out fight between Chloe and Brady. Chloe couldn't believe Brady agreed so quickly but Belle assured her that Brady put up his usual brat act before finally giving in for the sake of the vacation. When Belle tried to bring up accepting Marlena for the sake of the family, Brady told her not to push it and left to change into his bathing suit. Chloe appreciated yet another person accepting her--first Mimi, then Jason, and now Brady--but it still felt weird that Brady Black was being kind to her.  
  
"Thanks, Brady," Chloe said, deciding it wasn't worth it to start things with him. She grinned at Philip and grabbed his hand. "Let's go for a swim," she whispered in his ear. Philip nodded tightly. _What the hell?_ he thought. _One minute she's cold and the other she's hot...very hot. _He shook his head, remembering his vow to find out what was going on. Philip refused to be confused by Chloe this entire week. He didn't think she was playing games...that wasn't like her. He had a feeling deep down Chloe wasn't sure what she was doing, either. He decided to pointblank ask her when they reached the sea.  
  
Belle watched with a smile on her face as Chloe led Philip down to the ocean. All of a sudden, she felt something hit her on the back. She whirled around to see Brady and Mimi talking quietly and Shawn talking about the Yankees with Jason. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and turned back to watch the sun set over the water. A few seconds later, she felt a cold lump hit her in the back of the head. She grabbed the back of her hair and felt wet sand stuck in-between some of the strands. She turned back to the gang...Mimi and Brady were still deep in their conversation. Shawn was loudly talking about Derek Jeter and Jason had his hand over his mouth. Belle saw a red bucket peeking out from behind Shawn's back and a pile of wet sand next to him.  
  
"Shawn Douglas Brady!" she screamed.  
  
"What, Belle?" he asked mock-innocently as Jason burst into a fit of laughter. "I am trying to have a conversation here."  
  
"Don't play that game with me, Shawn." She approached him as he scooted over to his left, trying to hide the bucket. "I can see the bucket of wet sand behind your back, I'm not retarded. I told you I didn't want to get wet and smell beach-y all night, Shawn."  
  
"Well, I swear to God this bucket doesn't have wet sand in it."  
  
"Oh really? Prove it."  
  
"Belle--the wet sand's--right next--to him--" Jason tried to say through his laughter but Shawn shook his head. "Nah, Jase. Belle wants me to prove it, I'll be glad to." Shawn picked up the bucket and chucked the water right onto Belle. "Oh...wait. Did you say you **didn't** want to get wet tonight? Oops!" Shawn said, laughing.  
  
Belle stood there, soaked from head to toe, with an expression to kill. Shawn looked down, not wanting to notice how beautiful she looked. The sun was almost done setting completely and there was a breathtaking light bouncing off her eyes. Belle tilted her head and slicked her wet blond hair back with both hands. Shawn cleared his throat, suddenly feeling like a middle school boy who was looking at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. "That's it, Shawn. Your gonna get it now."  
  
"Bring it on, Belle," Shawn said, never taking his eyes off of her. "I'll give you a head start," she responded evenly. After a minute, Belle was chasing after Shawn down the beach. Mimi, Jason and Brady watched them run away until the three couldn't see them anymore. Mimi leaned over to look in the cooler. "Damn, we're out of drinks."  
  
"I'll go back up to the condo and get some more," Brady answered. "What do you want?"  
  
"Just a Coke." Brady nodded and ran back up to the condo. Mimi heard Jason clear his throat and closed her eyes. She forgot she'd be alone with him.  
  
Jason looked over at Mimi. "I--I, uh, like your bathing suit."  
  
Mimi turned her head to look at Jason. "Oh. Um. Thank you," she said, with a strange tone to her voice.  
  
"What's wrong?" Jason asked.  
  
"Nothing. Just thank you. That actually means a lot coming from you," Mimi answered honestly. Maybe he really is a nice guy, she thought.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"It's just you never say anything really nice to me, so when you finally do--"  
  
"God, Mimi, I just said I liked your suit. It wasn't exactly my asking your permission to join the Mimi Lockhart Fan Club."  
  
"I knew it wouldn't last long," Mimi muttered.  
  
"Can't you say a simple thank you instead of turning it into a big thing?"  
  
"Well, I don't get any compliments, so I really can't help you there!" Mimi blurted out.  
  
Jason stared at Mimi quietly and looked down. "I..."  
  
"Just forget it, Jason," Mimi said, getting up. "I'm going to the condo, I'll see you later." She ran up the beach as Brady was returning with her drink.  
  
"Here, Meems. I hope you don't mind that I took a sip--" Mimi knocked the drink out of Brady's hand as she ran past him.  
  
"Damn, girl!" Brady shouted as the Coke spilled down his stomach. He looked over at Jason, who had his head in his hands.   
  
"You really have a way with the ladies, Welles."  
  
  
Belle finally caught up with Shawn and jumped on his back, sending them both crashing down on the sand. They rolled down the beach until Shawn dug his foot into the sand to stop them. Shawn was ontop of her and they were right on the shoreline. The water rushed over their legs and he looked up. They ran so far that the gang wasn't anywhere in sight. Shawn looked back down to see Belle looking up at him with an expression he never saw before. The water rushed over their legs again and Belle smiled slightly.  
  
"This is just like that old black and white movie," she whispered.  
  
"From Here to Eternity," Shawn answered back. He brushed Belle's hair off her forehead, never breaking their gaze.  
  
Belle reached her hand up and held Shawn's hand to the side of her face. "The only difference is that they were in love."  
  
Shawn said the words before he even thought them in his mind:  
  
"No...Belle, there is no difference, because--because I'm in love with you."  
  



	5. Parts 10, 11 and 12

**Chapter 10  
**A silence filled the beach for what felt like hours, even though it was only a minute. Shawn, still ontop of Belle, shifted his weight uncomfortably and started to wonder if Belle heard him. He then started to wonder if she was even conscious--she had the same dazed expression on her face since he told her the truth. Shawn closed his eyes when it dawned on him--Belle was thinking of a way to let him down...to let him know she only thought of him as the ill-fated friend. Or maybe she'll use the "it's not you, it's me." "I'm too busy with cheerleading to have a boyfriend." "Um, thanks, Shawn." "Get off me, you creep." Any of these would send Shawn packing his bags and buying a one-way ticket to Mexico. Is that far away enough? How was Guam this time of ye--  
  
"Your in what with me?" A whisper sliced through his thoughts like a knife.   
  
This was his chance. He can take back what he said, go back to her not knowing how he felt. Shawn was about to say that she misheard him until he realized...he couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't keep lying to himself...and Belle.   
  
"I--Well, you know. I'm, uh..." Dammit, why is she making me say this again, he thought. "I'm in love with you. Belle." Did it sound more romantic when I said her name? he thought. Yeah, definitely. Good thinking, buddy, Shawn congratulated himself.  
  
Another wave washed over their legs.  
  
"I love you too. Shawn," Belle choked out. This has to be a dream, she thought. She has dreamed about this moment, fantasized about it, imagined it happening in school, at a carnival, a dance, at her door with him carrying a dozen red roses and a teddy bear...but she never really thought Shawn Brady telling her he loved her would ever actually happen. Especially like this.  
  
But when she felt Shawn's lips against hers, nothing seemed more real. The kiss was nothing like either of them expected. It was full of hope, trust, relief, passion and love. Neither of them wanted to pull away, both scared and excited...knowing nothing would be the same for them ever again.   
  
  
Philip got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. It turned out that when Chloe said she wanted to go for a swim, she meant it.   
  
**_Right when Philip opened his mouth to ask her what was happening, she shot off like Brook Bennett trying to win the Olympic gold. As she swam around the ocean at a steady pace, Philip bobbed up and down in the water in shock. He just couldn't get why she was acting this way._   
  
_Chloe enjoyed the refreshing feel of the water. It took away from her troubles. One minute, she wanted to pretend that she and Philip could be okay, that they could work things out. But then she'd always realize what she realized on the bed before the gang picked rooms. That she could never---her thought was interrupted by a girlie scream.  
  
"Belle? Mimi?" Chloe called out, unsure which of her friends had screamed. Then she caught Philip wincing in pain a few feet away from her. "Philip? Was that you?"  
  
Philip nodded and continued to grimace. "Jellyfish."  
  
Chloe couldn't help but giggle. "You'll be fine. The jellyfish stings down here are never that bad. Priceless scream, by the way, Philip."  
  
"Can we just go back to the condo?"  
  
Chloe helped Philip back up the beach and he tried to take another great opportunity to ask her why she was acting cold one minute and hot the next. Unfortunately, when he began his question, Chloe just happened to spot a rare type of bird that she thought would be fun to babble about for the rest of the trip up to the condo.**  
_  
Philip sighed and leaned against the edge of the sink. What was she hiding from him? Philip walked out of the bathroom and heard Mimi and Brady laughing downstairs. He heard the TV blasting also...he assumed Jason and Chloe were watching it. He wondered where Belle and Shawn were as he walked into his room to see Chloe lying in one of the beds reading.  
  
"Oh...I thought you were downstairs."  
  
Chloe looked up to see Philip soaking wet and dressed only in a towel. She couldn't help gaping at the sight and Philip smiled at her reaction. Chloe quickly averted her attention back to her book. "Hi, Philip."  
  
"Chloe," he said, walking over to her bed. He pulled her book down so he could look into her eyes. "What's been wrong? You've been acting so different towards me since we got here."  
  
"Nothing. I--nothing. Um, I'm really tired, Philip, maybe we should just go to sleep."  
  
"It's only eleven."  
  
"Oh. Well, um, I kinda want to finish this book," she said, fumbling with it at first before pulling it up to her face. Her eyes quickly scanned the pages and Philip sighed.  
  
"Good book so far?"  
  
"Yeah, especially this chapter," Chloe responded, still staring at the pages.  
  
"You must be a really talented reader...I don't know anyone else that can read upside down so fast." Chloe noticed she was holding her book upside down and slowly closed it, smiling guiltily.   
  
"Chloe, please tell me what's going on."  
  
"Are you hungry? I can go down and--"  
  
"Dammit, Chloe, cut it out!" Philip screamed, making Chloe jump. "I'm tired of playing this game, ok?! I want you to tell me what's wrong and I want you to tell me right now!"  
  
Chloe stared at Philip with her mouth wide open in shock. Her thoughts were spinning...she was scared to tell Philip of why she was acting the way she was. She only had the courage to say it once, but Mimi interrupted. Now, with Philip's yelling echoing in her mind and her own thoughts pounding loudly...it was too much. With tears streaming down her face, Chloe pushed past Philip and ran from the room.  
  
"Chloe!" Philip called after her. He heard the others downstairs call after her too and then the front door slammed shut. Philip ran out of the room in record speed. He rushed past Mimi, Brady and Jason and out the front door. The trio stood there in silence before Brady spoke up.  
  
"Does he realize he was only wearing a towel?"  
  
**Chapter 11**   
Shawn broke the kiss to breathe and stared into Belle's eyes. He couldn't help grinning. He finally kissed Belle Black. And it was amazing.  
  
"Shawn?" Belle whispered.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"My leg fell asleep."  
  
Shawn bust out into laughter. "Okay, Princess Isabella, as much as I hate to tear myself off of you..." -- he rolled off Belle and sat Indian style, picking Belle up easily and sitting her on his lap as she shrieked -- "this will just have to do."  
  
Belle wrapped her arms around Shawn's neck and lightly kissed him again. "I don't even know what to say," she laughed. "You've been my best friend for years and now I don't even what to say to you."  
  
"Tell me you love me again."  
  
"I love you, Tough Boy."  
  
"I love you, Perfect Girl." He was amazed how easily he could say those words now. "I have never met a girl like you before, Belle. I know I never will. You've made me see things in ways I never thought I could see and I don't know what I'd do without you in my life. You're my angel."  
  
Belle looked into Shawn's eyes as a single tear fell down her face. "Shawn...I had no idea. But I feel...you practically read my mind word for word. Your...your like a part of me, Shawn."   
  
Shawn kissed her again, getting lost in the fact that their lips together felt so right. When they parted, Belle giggled. "I feel like we've just earned our spots as Hallmark writers."  
  
Shawn laughed with Belle. "Or the Backstreet Boys' new songwriters."  
  
Belle looked up at the stars and sighed happily. "This feels so right, Shawn," she whispered, barely audible. "Nothing could make this more perfect." Shawn couldn't help but stare at the beauty of Belle's face in the moonlight. She looked...wonderful. An idea popped into Shawn's head and he grinned.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't say nothing...would you dance with me, Belle Black?"  
  
"But there's no music..."  
  
"Sssh. Just trust me."  
  
Belle stared into his soulful eyes and didn't even hear herself speak. "I trust you."  
  
The two stood up and Shawn began humming as they swayed in the moonlight. The water crashed around their feet and Belle thought she might faint...she was still unsure this moment was really happening. Soon, Shawn began to sing in Belle's ear and she began to cry when she realized what he was singing...to her.  
  
**_It's late in the evening...she's wondering what clothes to wear  
She puts on her make-up and brushes her long blond hair  
And then she asks me..."Do I look all right?"  
And I say, "Yes...you look wonderful tonight."  
  
We go to a party...and everyone turns to see  
This beautiful lady who's walking around with me  
And then she asks me..."Do you feel all right?"  
And I say, "Yes...I feel wonderful tonight."  
  
I feel wonderful because I see the love light up in your eyes  
And the wonder of it all is that you just don't realize  
How much I love you  
  
It's time to go home now...and I've got an aching head  
So I give her the car key and she helps me to bed  
And then I tell her...as I turn out the light  
I say, "My darling...you are wonderful tonight."  
Oh, my darling, you are wonderful tonight.**  
  
_Belle lifted her head to meet Shawn's face. He had tears welling in his eyes and Belle was all cried out. "Belle...you are wonderful...always."  
  
"I love you, Shawn," she whispered as she watched a falling star over his shoulder. She smiled and closed her eyes. All of her wishes have already come true._  
  
_(song: Wonderful Tonight, by Eric Clapton)  
  
**Chapter 12  
**Brady slammed the fridge shut and walked quickly to the back door. "That's it, I'm going to look for them."  
  
Mimi caught up with him and grabbed his wrist. "Brady, she's not ten anymore. Not to mention she's just with Shawn--"  
  
"Who's a seventeen year old guy."  
  
"Who's her best friend," Mimi corrected. "They're probably just talking on the beach or something."  
  
"Yeah, it's the 'something' I'm not crazy about," Brady muttered.   
  
"You're hopeless, Brady," Mimi said, rolling her eyes as she walked back to the living room.  
  
"I'm going upstairs to change and take a shower," Brady said, still in his swimsuit. "If they're not back by the time I'm downstairs, Shawn's sleeping in the car."  
  
Mimi sat down next to Jason, who asleep on the couch. He was curled up in a little ball and was shivering a little. Mimi smiled in spite of herself and grabbed a blanket from the hall closet. As she walked back to the couch, she accidentally stepped on the remote control, which was on the floor. The TV was turned up almost to the full volume, and Limp Bizkit was rocking out their new song.   
  
"Dammit!" Mimi murmured and turned off the television with the remote. She turned back to see Jason sitting straight up on the couch and she screamed, throwing the blanket up in the air in surprise.  
  
"Thanks for the wake-up call, Meems. The scream was a good back-up though to make sure I was fully awake," Jason said bitterly, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"I was just bringing you this blanket," Mimi said defensively, pointing to the blanket on the floor.  
  
"Yeah, I just love how you tossed it on the floor. Thanks, what a pal."  
  
"You scared me! I thought you were sleeping!"  
  
Jason stood up and crossed his arms. "I was, until you decided to play me that nice Limp Bizkit lullaby. You're just going to make this vacation hell for me aren't you?"  
  
Mimi lost her short being-nice-to-Jason mood as she gained confidence she never knew she had. "Just like you've made my life hell for me since elementary school."  
  
"Oh, God, Mimi, get over it! Chloe did!"  
  
"Chloe only had to deal with you being an ass for a year! On the plane,you told her you were a great guy, pre-Jan...yeah, sure, to your friends! Never to me!"  
  
"Look, I'm sorry, whatever, ok?"  
  
Mimi threw her hands up in the air. "Well, there it is, folks! The greatest apology in history! How long did it take you to think up that one, Jase? You really deserve an Oscar for that eloquent speech."  
  
Jason sighed in exasperation. "You know, Mimi, we had a deal. You stay out of my way, and I stay out of yours'."  
  
Mimi, on a roll, moved closer to Jason and put her hands on her hips. "I've wanted you out of my way for my entire life, Jason. But you always did what you wanted--you made fun of me every day for years, looked down on me. Now it's time for what I want. I want you to realize how goddamn annoying it is to have someone you hate always have some sort of mean comment on everything you do."  
  
"That was middle school, Mimi. Everyone was annoying...besides, I hardly talked to you in high school until now."  
  
"Exactly! You ignored me until it was my turn to be made fun of by Tweetle-Dumb and Tweetle-Dumber! And now that Jan is gone from your life, everyone might have forgiven you...but not me."  
  
"I could care less if you've forgiven me or not, Mimi!"  
  
Mimi's eyes filled with rage and Jason titled his head to the side. There was something different about her right now (besides her explosive anger) that he couldn't put his finger on. "You know what, Jason? Forget what I said about me making fun of everything you do. It's not worth actually having to spend any time with you."  
  
"Sounds good to me. Stay away from me and you won't have to deal with me," Jason said, never taking his eyes off of her. He felt so angry...but he felt something else that he couldn't figure out. What was it?  
  
"Fine!" Mimi shouted.  
  
"Fine!"  
  
"Good!"  
  
"Great!"   
  
They stood there for a second staring at each other in rage. Out of nowhere, Jason grabbed Mimi's face and planted a kiss roughly on her lips  



	6. Parts 13, 14 and 15

**Chapter 13**  
Belle stopped at the door to the kitchen and turned to Shawn. "Do you think they'll know what we were doing?" After the two danced, they kissed in the sand for about half-an-hour before the night air grew too chilly for the both of them.   
  
Shawn looked at Belle's messy hair that had wet sand clinging to many of the strands. She had sand stuck all over her back, arms and legs and Shawn doubted he was sand-less. It was pretty obvious they weren't exactly playing Scrabble. "Hopefully, they're all sleeping by now."  
  
"Hopefully? Well, don't you want them to know we're a couple now?"  
  
Shawn grinned goofily at the word couple. "Of course I do. But I doubt you want them to know we've been making out for thirty minutes. I'm sure Brady--" Shawn stopped talking when Brady's name escaped his mouth.  
  
"You're sure Brady what?"  
  
"Will beat me senseless."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Belle said, smiling. "He'll be happy for us."  
  
"Um...Belle, remember his rule?"  
  
"What rule? Shawn, did you hit your head or something?"  
  
"Well, Brady told me he refused to let you have a serious boyfriend before you turned eighteen." Belle's jaw dropped in shock. "Oh, and, um, something about my head being up my ass if I ever touched you."  
  
"I can't believe him," Belle shouted. "He's so--let me, huh? Well, you know what? I'm telling him, anyway," she said calming down. "If I just explain I'm in love and I'm happy, he won't get mad. Besides, he's not my master, I can do what I want. Right?"  
  
"Wrong."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Well, I don't want to die at an early age, for one thing."  
  
"So what are we supposed to do? Just sneak around behind Brady's back?" A devilish grin grew on Shawn's face and Belle shook her head rapidly. "Oh, no, Shawn. We're not going to have this big secret relationship. We're not Monica and Chandler here."  
  
"Come on, Belle."  
  
"You know I hate lying...especially to Brady."  
  
"We can just sneak around just for a little bit," Shawn said, his mind racing. "Doesn't it sound just a little bit exciting to you?"  
  
"No! Not at all. It sounds stupid and...retarded and...dumb."  
  
"Good with the adjectives there, Belle. Must've been a pro at Mad Libs."  
  
Belle hit Shawn on the shoulder. "Shawn! I'm serious. There is no way I'm going to lie to my brother."  
  
  
"Hey, you two." Brady said. Shawn and Belle had sneaked upstairs, not even seeing Jason kiss Mimi, and both had their turn at taking a shower. A few minutes later, Brady had walked in their bedroom as Shawn was watching television and Belle was finishing unpacking.  
  
"We got lost," Shawn immediately said, thrown off-guard by Brady's appearance.  
  
Brady crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. "Thanks for sparing me of having to ask my question, Shawn. So, lost, huh? Yeah, that straight line of an empty beach sure is confusing. What really happened, kids?"  
  
Belle stepped in front of her brother and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Brady," Shawn closed his eyes in fear. Just get it over with and tell him, Belle, he thought. "What Shawn meant to say is that we lost track of time."  
  
Shawn's eyes popped open and Brady glanced over in his direction. "Lost track of time?"  
  
Belle nodded. "Yeah, neither of us had a watch on us, so when we got back from talking on the beach, we didn't even realize how late it was."  
  
"Is that true, Shawn?"  
  
"You know Belle...couldn't lie to save her life."  
  
Brady nodded and smiled. "All right...I'll see you guys in the morning, then. No sharing the same bed." He kissed Belle on the cheek and headed off to his room.  
  
Belle closed the door behind him and locked it. She turned around and smiled at Shawn. "Got lost, huh? You'd think all those years of being a rebel would teach you how to tell a good lie."  
  
"Oh, yeah, and how did you learn?"  
  
"I didn't. It just...came to me, I guess," she shrugged nonchalantly, even though inside Belle couldn't help feeling proud that Brady bought her story. She lied down on the bed next to Shawn and curled up next to him, placing her arm across his chest as he wrapped his arm around her waist.  
  
"I thought you were going to tell him the truth."  
  
"Well, I decided Spring Break is time to lighten and liven up. Who knows, maybe this will be exciting. Besides, I want to find out how things are going to be between us before our friends start gushing how cute we are or asking about our every moment together," Belle said, smiling.  
  
"What do you mean, how things are going to be between us?"  
  
"Shawn, we've only been a couple for a few hours. Everything is perfect now, but I just want to see how we work in a relationship, without any interference." Belle kissed Shawn lightly after looking into his concerned eyes. "Shawn, don't worry, I don't mean I want to see if being your girlfriend will be good or bad. I just want to be with you without having to worry about everyone pushing me one way or the other."  
  
"And we can't do that with Mimi and Chloe blabbing about how great it is that we finally woke up, or with Brady giving us his 10 Commandments of Dating."  
  
"Exactly. But we're only playing this 'sneaking around' game this week. I want to be able to be with you and kiss you when we get back to Salem without worrying about being 'found out'. So once this trip is over, we tell everyone. Deal?"  
  
"Deal," Shawn said, sealing it with a kiss.  
  
**Chapter 14  
***Thanks to Christina for the help!***  
  
**Brady flopped down on his bead and sighed loudly. Jason and Mimi were still downstairs...Belle and Shawn were in their bedrooms...and Philip and Chloe were God knows where. And here he was, all by his lonesome. He turned on his side and wondered why Chloe was running away from Philip. All of a sudden, Brady sat up on his bed. "No, she couldn't have!" he shouted to himself.  
**  
  
**Philip ran out the front door and saw Chloe sitting in the rent-a-car in the driveway. Philip knew Shawn had the keys, so she wasn't planning on going anywhere. Philip collected his breath and marched over to the car. He opened up the passenger side door as a light rain began to fall down.  
  
"Philip..." Chloe whispered. She had tear stains all over her face and her make-up was all rubbed off.  
  
Philip leaned down to get into the car, but his towel got loose on his way and dropped to the street beneath him.  
  
There was a silence like time had frozen. Philip stood still in an awkward daze as Chloe dropped her jaw and widened her eyes. Finally, she broke the spell.  
  
"Philip, what are you doing!?," she shouted as her hands flew up to her eyes. Philip quickly bent down and rewrapped himself with his towel as his face grew red. He climbed into the car and shut the door.  
  
"Watch the penis."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Glasses! Watch the glasses! My glasses...I think I put them on the passenger seat..." Chloe fumbled through her words, still with her hands over her eyes.  
  
"Oh...no, they're up here on the dashboard. And Chloe, you can open your eyes now."  
  
"Are you...decent?"  
  
"Yes, Chloe. I'm 100% naked-free."  
  
Chloe slowly lowered her hands and looked over at Philip's towel. "I wouldn't say 100%."  
  
"Chloe...I'm sorry I screamed at you before."  
  
Chloe wrung her hands together. "No, I'm sorry...I...I wasn't being fair."  
  
"Chloe, I just want--"  
  
"No, Philip, let me speak. If I don't do this now, I'm scared I won't ever be able to. I know that I...well, I was just so scared...I don't know what to...I don't want you to be mad...Philip you have to understa--"  
  
"Um...Chloe? Can you, like, pick a sentence?"  
  
Chloe looked up at Philip and sighed. "Philip, you deserve better than what I have to offer," she said all in one breath.  
  
"What are you talking about? There's no one better than you."  
  
"Philip, please stop! I can't take you saying all those things to me anymore!"  
  
"Chloe...I don't understand..."  
  
"I betrayed you Philip! You should hate me!"  
  
"Betray...?"  
  
Chloe took a shaky breath. "I've been acting this way because I feel so guilty. Sometimes I feel like I can forget what happened...but I just can't. I can't believe I'm about to tell you this."  
  
Philip felt nauseous and took in his own shaky breath. "Tell me."  
  
Chloe finally meet Philip's eyes. "Remember the surprise birthday party Shawn threw for Belle a few weeks ago?"  
  
Philip nodded. "Yeah, it was at the pub."   
  
Chloe closed her eyes...the memory played out in her mind as she recounted her tale for Philip.  
  
**_Chloe and Philip had just finished slow-dancing. Everything was so perfect with them, everything felt so right. Philip decided to go ask Belle if she opened his present and Chloe went outside to get some air.  
  
"Well, well, Chloe Lane. Seems you and Loverboy are getting pretty close."  
  
Chloe spun around at the sound of the voice. "Brady. Why aren't you inside?"  
  
"I can't stand the incessant giggling of my sister for more than an hour."  
  
Chloe nodded and turned back to go inside. She didn't really feel like talking to Brady when she could be with Philip.  
  
"So, are you in love?" Brady called after her.  
  
Chloe stopped short in her tracks and shortly turned around. "That's none of your business, Brady."**  
  
_"What does this have to do with me, Chloe? It's just another story Brady being Brady. I don't see the betrayal yet," Philip interrupted, impatient.  
  
Chloe sighed in exasperation. "Philip, please, I'm trying, ok?"  
  
**_"Come on, Chloe. It's pretty obvious that you think you are."  
  
Chloe turned back for the door again but stopped when she digested Brady's words. "Think?"  
  
"Yeah. Think. You can't really know what love is. Your, what, sixteen? Not to mention this is your first boyfriend."  
  
"What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"Well, how could you know if your in love with him if you have nothing else to compare it to?"  
  
"I'm not going to listen to this, Brady."  
  
"So leave."  
  
For some reason, she didn't want Brady to think she was only involved in some crush. She didn't want anyone to think that. Chloe wanted everyone to know that she was in love.**  
  
_"Aw, Chloe. You're so sweet," Philip interrupted again, grinning.  
  
"Philip!"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
**_"I don't need anything else to compare my love for Philip to," Chloe retorted back to Brady.  
  
"I mean," Brady continued, ignoring Chloe's comment. "Philip's the first guy you've ever even kissed. How do you know you're in love with him when you've never kissed anyone else?" He got up in Chloe's face and tried to read her expression.  
  
Chloe thought about his words. It was true...Philip was her first boyfriend...how did she know it was love if she never had even mere feelings for anyone else? What if Philip only was a crush? How could she tell her feelings for Philip were for real? How could she tell that Philip's kisses were special and not superficial?   
  
Chloe's lips reached for Brady's before she even knew what she was doing. Their lips pressed together and Brady pushed himself closer to her. It felt like it wasn't even her doing it...it felt like the real Chloe was watching herself. She pulled herself off of Brady once she realized what was happening.  
  
"See?" Brady whispered in his ear. "You only think you are. Would you have kissed me if you were in love with Philip?"  
  
"You asshole!" Chloe screamed.**  
  
_"You kissed him?!" Philip yelled.  
  
"Philip--I...I didn't even know what I was doing--"  
  
"What, did aliens have control over your body? No, Chloe, you knew what you were doing!"  
  
"What I mean is--I was so confused...he put all these ideas in my mind and I had..."  
  
"Are you trying to justify this?!" Philip shouted. "I remember, at the party, you came back ten minutes later and acted like regular old Chloe. And you had all these weeks to tell me this. Did you feel even a little regret?"  
  
"All I feel is regret, Philip! I regret that moment every second of my life! That's why I've been acting so strange...I felt--I **feel** so guilty. I never wanted to hurt you, Philip. But...Brady made me realize how scared I was. Scared that what we have isn't love at all. I had to see that what we had was real."   
  
"By kissing him? That is the stupidest thing I ever heard, Chloe!"  
  
"But I realized that I am in love! With Brady, I felt nothing! But with you--"  
  
"You couldn't have found another way? You couldn't just have trusted me?"  
  
"Philip, you know how hard it is for me to trust people ever since Nancy gave me up for adoption."_  
  
"_Goddammit, Chloe, all you care about is someone breaking **your**trust! Don't you even see that you broke mine?"  
  
"Philip, I am so sorry..." she sobbed, reaching out for his hand.  
  
"Don't you dare touch me," Philip muttered as he swung open the car door to reveal the light rain had began to pour out of the sky.  
  
"Philip! Please!" Chloe screamed through her sobs, but Philip slammed the door on her words. The rain pounded on the car and the driveway, but the only sound Chloe heard was her heart breaking in two. _  
  
****_Chapter 15  
  
Jason pressed himself harder against Mimi and she grabbed his face to pull him closer. He felt so...good to her. It was her first _real_ kiss and it was nothing like she imagined. _God, _Mimi thought_ This is passionate, this is sweet, this is gentle, this is...wait a minute, this is Jason!  
  
_Mimi pushed Jason off of her so hard that he landed on his butt with a thump.  
  
"God, Jason, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Mimi screamed, wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand.  
  
"Me? Damn, Mimi, you're the one trying out for the WWF or something..."Jason said, struggling to get up.  
  
"What--how--why?" Mimi muttered, trying to make sense of what just happened.  
  
"Well, 'what' is what we normal folk call a kiiisss," Jason said, drawing out the word slowly as if Mimi never heard it before. "'How' is that I press my lips against yours and you do the same to me. 'Why'...well, you got me there. Do you want the 'who', 'where' and 'when' to round out your five W's?"  
  
"Oh, ha, ha, Jason. You're just so freaking funny. Watch me laugh! Ha, ha, HA!" Mimi shouted.  
  
"God, girl, chill. Did you forget your medication this morning or what?"  
  
"Screw you, Jason," Mimi murmured, running her hands through her hair. "Why did you do that?" **  
  
**"What?"  
  
"Oh, you know very well what...why did you kiss me?"  
  
"Oh...I don't know. Maybe I temporarily went insane. Maybe my mind went blank and thought you were Jennifer Lopez for a minute there. Maybe I knew you'd kiss back," Jason said, smirking. He enjoyed watching Mimi squirm. Honestly, Jason didn't know why he did it or why she responded. There was just so much tension in the room and it was the first way he thought of to get rid of it. Jason did know that it felt good. It was almost addictive...he wanted more.  
  
"I just kissed back--because--because--you know, Jason, I hate you! You think just because you're this big stupid jock every girl is going to want you to screw them. But not me! No, I--"  
  
Jason lost her as soon as she opened her mouth. All he could think was: Mimi talking. Could be kissing.  
  
Jason grabbed her face again and kissed her, more gently than the first time. Mimi let out a whimper and kissed back hungrily. She wanted this--she wanted a guy to want her. Jason's hands pushed her hair back behind her ears, grabbed her shoulders, trailed down her back and eventually innocently grabbed her butt.  
  
Mimi pushed Jason off of her with a yell of disgust as he landed on his ass again.  
  
"Would you stop doing that?!" They shouted at each other the same time.   
  
"My ass is not a handrest, you know!" Mimi yelled, crossing her arms.  
  
Jason ignored her comment as he got up. "You know, Meems, you could have fooled me...from that kiss, I wouldn't say that you hate me at all..."  
  
"Oh, I do. I really do, trust me. It's just...just..."  
  
"What, Mimi?"  
  
"You caught me off-guard, that's all! I just kissed back because...I didn't know what else to do! Yeah. And why do you keep kissing me?!"  
  
"Come on, Meems. You didn't feel it? Because I sure did."  
  
"Yeah, the only thing you felt was my butt."  
  
"OK, well, that was nice, yeah," Jason said, grinning devilishly. "But what I meant was didn't you feel how good it was?"  
  
"I--" Mimi bit her lip. "No. It sucked. Good night," Mimi said, turning to go upstairs. Jason grabbed the crook of her arm and pulled her towards him. Caught off balance, Mimi flew back right into Jason's chest. _His strong...muscular...chest..._ Mimi didn't even notice that her fingers were trailing up and down Jason's shirt. She looked up to see Jason gazing down at her. _His deep...beautiful...eyes..._ This gorgeous guy...wanting her. Wanting to be with her...out of all people. Mimi couldn't think straight anymore...all she could think about was those eyes...that body...she wondered what other beautiful secrets Jason had as her fingers found their way to his belt. She fumbled with it until jumping back as though she received an electric shock. What was she doing?!  
  
"Hey, I was fine with that you know," Jason said, giving the same mischievous grin.  
  
"Well, I wasn't!" Mimi said, blushing so much she looked like a tomato. "I--I mean, come on, Jason, it's **you**," she said in disgust.  
  
"Wow. Thanks, Meems, you're such a sweetheart."   
  
"You've been an asshole to me all these years--"  
  
"Get over it, Mimi!"  
  
"No! You're a creep! A jackass! A--a--"  
  
"A damn good kisser."  
  
"Yes," she breathed. "I mean, no! No!" Mimi yelled, grabbing her head in confusion.  
  
Jason smiled as an idea popped into his head. "You know, Mimi, you might hate me, you might not. But all I know is that you're not very experienced--"  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Well, you're not. But who cares? Because you are damn good at kissing. And so am I." Mimi rolled her eyes. "So why don't I help you?"  
  
"Help me?"  
  
"Yeah...I mean, yeah, you're really good, but I mean, you know what they say."  
  
"What? The girls at our school? Yeah, I know. Jason Welles is an egotistical jackass player."  
  
"No," Jason said impatiently. "What I meant is the universal 'they'. They say practice makes perfect. So what I propose is that I help you. I help you practice your, uh, technique and by the time you find the guy you really love, you'll blow him--"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Blow him away, Mimi."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Anyway," Jason said, clapping his hands together, proud of his little plan. Hey, he gets to keep making out with a cute girl for a week who knows what she's doing despite her inexperience, and there's no emotional attachment...she's obviously not going to fall for him if she hates him. What else was he going to with his time this week? What could go wrong? "So, what do you think? You wanna make out?"  
  
"God, Jason, you really think I'm going to fall for that?!" Mimi yelled. He looked up at her...those eyes...that body...   
  
"Yeah, okay," she said, planting a kiss on him roughly.  



	7. Parts 16, 17 and 18

**Chapter 16  
**  
"Liar!" Belle shouted, hurling a poor innocent Buddy Bear at his head.  
  
"Belle, I am so being honest!", Shawn protested, catching the bear.  
  
"I don't believe you."  
  
"Look, your question was what was the movie I cried during. I swear to you, it was American Pie. One scene was just so beautiful, it moved me to tears...when Shannon Elizabeth is practically naked and--"  
  
"Shawn!" Belle screamed, hitting his shoulder. "I don't want to hear this."  
  
"Okay, okay," Shawn nodded and turned his head towards Belle. "Can we talk about you being practically naked then?" he said with a mischievous grin.  
  
"Shawn..." she warned. She couldn't help smiling when Shawn gave another sexy grin and pulled her onto his lap. It was about five in the morning and the couple still couldn't fall asleep. They talked for hours...about college, about MTV, about food...everything. Just like their regular conversations...except now it seemed special, because they finally came out of the I-Love-You closet. While talking, Shawn had seen the rain outside from their window, and knowing that Belle was a sucker for some calming rainfall, dragged her outside to watch the sunrise on the porch. Belle brought the Buddy Bear down, even though she didn't tell Shawn why. She was too embarrassed to admit that she couldn't sleep without it and Belle brought it just in case she fell asleep outside.  
  
Shawn wrapped his arms around Belle's waist and kissed her neck lightly. "You feel so good to me," he murmured.  
  
Belle swallowed nervously and her heart pounded. Shawn did things to her feelings that she never thought possible. Most of it was because he was her first love. But being so damn charming definitely had something to do with it, too, Belle thought to herself, smiling. Shawn continued to kiss her neck and Belle turned around to face him, wrapping her legs around his waist. Shawn groaned when Belle rolled her hips against him and she giggled nervously into Shawn's neck.   
  
"What?" Shawn said, smiling. Belle perfectly imitated Shawn's groan complete with the eyes closing. "Oh, you're just hilarious, Isabella," Shawn said...he leaned next to her ear and whispered, "I can't help that you make me feel this way."  
  
They kissed gently but Shawn obviously wanted more when his tongue found its way to Belle's. Belle all of a sudden broke away, bursting into a fit of laughter as the rain turned to a light drizzle.   
  
"Wow. Um...really wasn't hoping for that reaction, Belle," Shawn said.  
  
Belle kept her legs around him and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry! It's just, like, Shawn Brady's tongue is...like...in my mouth!" Belle stammered nervously.  
  
"That should be your dream come true, Perfect Girl," Shawn growled lowly. Belle felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter quickly...why did Shawn always have to be so sexy? Well, I won't complain, Belle thought to herself quickly.  
  
"It is," she whispered. They kissed again and Belle pulled back quickly.  
  
"Did you hear that?"  
  
"Um...no," Shawn said, leaning back towards Belle.  
  
"What if it's Brady? What if he catches us?"  
  
"Baby, it's five in the morning, he's sleeping," Shawn murmured. Belle smiled at the fact that Shawn just called her "baby" and they kissed again, their passion growing by every second. All those years of pent-up sexual tension and love poured through that kiss. Shawn lost all sense of control...now that he had Belle, he wanted every inch of her. He let his lips trail down her chin, her throat and across her collarbone. Belle moaned slightly but her eyes flew open when she felt Shawn's hands find their way underneath her shirt. When they worked on her bra's hook, she grabbed onto Shawn's arms. "Shawn...Shawn!"   
  
Shawn looked up at Belle and she saw passion in his eyes. He saw fear in hers. "Oh, god," he whispered, pulling his hands out from her shirt immediately. "Belle, I'm sorry, I didn't mean--" he stammered.  
  
"Shawn, it's okay. You stopped, that's all that matters. I'm just sorry that I made--"  
  
Shawn shook his head rapidly. "Belle, don't apologize. We move to the next step when you're ready. I don't want you to regret anything...I want our first time together to be perfect."  
  
Belle grinned and kissed Shawn gently. She turned around to sit back on his lap and settled her back against his chest. Shawn set his chin on Belle's shoulder and squeezed Belle's waist with his arms.  
  
"Shawn, that's so swe--" Shawn gave her a warning glance. "Very not sweet. Horrible." Shawn laughed and Belle kissed him on the cheek. "It's your turn, by the way."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Our question game. My question was what was the movie you remember crying to, so it's your turn."  
  
"Oh. Hm...will you make out with me?"  
  
"Shawn!"  
  
"Okay, okay! Um...describe your future in five years."  
  
"Oooh, good one. I want to hear what your answer would be."  
  
"Now, now, Belle, that's not playing by the rules."  
  
"I thought this was our week not to play by the rules, Brady," Belle retorted. She looked up at the window of Brady and Jason's room. She thought she saw her brother's shiloutte in the window but she shook it off. Talk about paranoia.  
  
"Fair enough. OK. I live in this big, like, rock-star mansion. JT lives next door with Mom and Dad. I'm a famous piano player."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Uh...and I have a big pool."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And...um...a dog."  
  
Belle rolled her eyes in frustration. "Am I anywhere in that rock-star mansion?"  
  
Shawn grinned. "Oh, yeah. You're definitely there."  
  
"Good," Belle smiled.  
  
"You're one of my many love slaves."  
  
"Shawn-Douglas Brady!"  
  
"What?!," he said, laughing as Belle smacked him on the chest. "You ask and you shall receive. Your turn."  
  
Belle snuggled against Shawn and took a deep breath. "OK. I live in a nice light brown Victorian house. It's big, but like not too big, you know? I'm married to this handsome dark-haired, brown-eyed man--"  
  
Shawn grinned. "Named Shawn Brady, I assume."  
  
"I was thinking more like Freddie Prinze Jr." She squealed in laughter as Shawn mock-gasped and started tickling her. "Mercy! I totally meant Shawn Brady." Shawn relented but his eyes widened when Belle continued. "We have a golden retriever named Ginger and, uh, two little girls...twins...Chrissy's a minute older and has blond hair like me. Jenny's the brunette, just like you. We totally have the whole white picket fence thing and a huge backyard with a swingset. We have a mini-van for the kids, but you know a nice car for you when you want to go out and not look like a Mom. Um...we also--"  
  
"Woah, Belle, did I tell you this had to be 100 words or less?" Shawn said, fidgeting a little.  
  
Belle turned around and looked into Shawn's eyes, suddenly realizing something. "Oh, god, I totally freaked you out didn't I?"  
  
"Um..."  
  
"Honesty, Shawn."  
  
"Yeah, a little."   
  
Belle looked down and bit her lip. "So--so, you never--never thought of...us in the... future?"  
  
"Of course I have, Belle. I've thought about you in every way possible. As a girlfriend, a wife..." Belle smiled up at him. "...and the ever-so-popular love slave, you know, when I'm lying in bed at night and..."  
  
"Ew! Shawn! I don't want to hear this!" Belle shouted, covering her ears. Shawn grinned and grabbed her arms, bringing them back down.   
  
"I'm just kidding, Belle." _Sorta_, he thought. "I love you. Maybe I don't think of the future to the extent to you do, which freaked me out for a minute. But I like it. I like you thinking of me like that. Like someone you want to be with forever."  
  
Belle kissed him and smiled. "Forever." She heard a slight bang.  
  
"Ok, I definitely heard something that time," Belle whispered.  
  
"Me too." Belle and Shawn jumped five feet away from each other, both looking around for Brady to come jumping out of nowhere. All of a sudden, Belle saw someone in the car...it looked like the person was sleeping. But why? Then she recognized the girl.  
  
"Shawn...it's Chloe."  
  
**Chapter 17  
  
**Brady mumbled in his sleep peacefully. He stirred when he heard a door open and nearby hurried footsteps. Before he knew it, he was pinned up against the wall and staring into Philip's enraged eyes.  
  
"Good morning, sunshine," Brady grumbled sleepily.  
  
"Don't you even try to play cute with me, you son of a bitch," Philip growled.  
  
Brady grimaced. He was not in the mood for Philip's attitude, especially right after waking up. If he wanted to play, Brady would play right back. "What's a matter, Phil? Girlfriend didn't put out last night?"  
  
"You asshole! I'll kill you!" Philip screamed, pushing Brady up against the wall again and then punching his face with all of his strength. Brady, caught off-guard, fell to the floor.  
  
"Damn, Philip, what the hell is the matter with you?!" Brady yelled, fumbling to get up.  
  
"You wanna know what's wrong, Brady? I'll show you what's wrong, _pal!_" Philip threw another punch but didn't get him as bad as the first time. Brady grinned and rubbed the side of his face.   
  
"That's all you got, K-Man? C'mon, if you want to play with the big boys, you gotta do it right."  
  
"Screw you, Brady," Philip whispered. "SCREW YOU!" Tears welled up in Philip's eyes. He always had a temper when it came to people messing with Chloe. After changing into some clothes, he tried taking it out on a nearby tree in the back, but that hurt his fists a lot more than it helped. Finally, he decided Brady's face would be a lot softer than bark and a lot more fun to punch. But when Philip got an image of Chloe's tears...Chloe calling after him...he knew punching Brady wasn't going to solve anything. He was so tired...he just wanted to sleep...or wake up from this nightmare.   
  
Brady crossed his arms, pissed that Philip thought he could come in here, throw some punches and then stop. If you're gonna dish it out, you're gonna have to take it, Brady thought. As Philip wondered if Chloe was sleeping peacefully in their room, Brady grabbed Philip's collar and gave him his turn up against the wall.  
  
Philip then got an image of Chloe and Brady kissing. Hell, maybe fighting Brady wouldn't solve anything. But right now, Philip couldn't think of anything that would feel better.   
  
  
Mimi moaned deeply when Jason started kissing her neck. They were downstairs for god knows how long, just kissing on the couch. "Practicing," as Jason called it. "For when she wants to impress her true love with her wonderful kissing skills."   
  
"Sssh," Jason said, sitting up.  
  
Mimi sat up too. "What? You told me to do that. You said guys like it...even if I did fake that moan," she giggled.  
  
"No, I mean, do you hear that?" Mimi stopped laughing when they heard Philip and Brady yelling.   
  
"Do you wanna go check it out?" Mimi asked.  
  
"Yeah," Jason said. Mimi followed Jason as they rushed up the stairs and Jason turned his head to look at Mimi.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Did you really fake that one?"  
  
"Jason..." Mimi rolled her eyes and went ahead of him as he called after her.  
  
"Because I was kissing really good. Right? Mimi?"  
  
  
  
Brady punched Philip again and again until he got bored of punching and threw him up against the mirror, cracking the glass. Philip yelled in pain and shoved Brady into the dresser, before throwing a fist towards his nose.  
  
Brady shouted cuss words left and right as blood began to trickle down and glared up at Philip. Brady pounced on him, throwing punch after punch, pissed that Philip had the upper hand. He heard Mimi scream behind him, but he kept on going, even though Philip got in some hits. In a few seconds after the scream, Brady was being pulled off Philip, who curled up on his position on the floor.  
  
"God, Brady, cut him a break!" Jason yelled, struggling to hold Brady back. Mimi ran over to Philip's side. "Jeez," she whispered. "Philip, are you all right?" she asked gently, brushing his hair off his forehead.  
  
"Check my back for glass," he said. Mimi did, and despite a few scratches, there was no embedded glass. "Are you sure you're ok, Phil?"  
  
Brady finally let up fighting and shoved Jason off of him. He sat down on the bed and put his hands in his head. Jason looked around the room and let out a low whistle, sinking in the bed besides Brady.  
  
"Dude, you totally trashed our room. Are we going to have to pay for this?" Brady glared at Jason, who scooted over a little to the edge of the bed. "Or I can just stop talking." Brady nodded and went to grab a tissue to check if his nose was still bleeding as badly as before.  
  
"I'm fine, Mimi, I swear," Philip groaned. "Nothing broken, that's a good sign, right?" He said, forcing a smile on his face as Mimi helped him up. Brady grimaced at his reflection in one of the mirror shards on the floor. He sighed when he realized how much he lost it...he didn't even know why he was fighting Philip. He just got so mad when a little punk thought he could beat up Brady Black. Brady threw the bloody tissue in the trash and walked over to Philip.  
  
"Listen, Phil. You really caught me off guard this morning..."  
  
"Get away from me, Brady," Philip growled lowly.  
  
"...and I was just defending myself." He looked over at Mimi, who rose her eyebrows skeptically. "OK, sometimes I was and sometimes I just got caught up in getting the upper hand. But it was really dumb of me. I'm sorry, buddy." Jason glanced over at Mimi and saw that she was almost as shocked as him that Brady Black actually apologized. Even more surprising, Brady held out his hand to be shaken by Philip.   
  
Philip looked at Brady's hand and shook his head in disgust. "Do you really think I'm going to forgive you for ruining my life?"  
  
"Dude, I just got in a fight with you, I wouldn't exactly call it life-threatening."  
  
"Yeah, Phil, you might have gotten beaten up some, but you're fine, right?" Jason asked.  
  
Philip nodded. "Physically, I'm hurtin, but I'll be ok. But aren't you a little curious of why I picked this fight with you, Brady?"  
  
Brady looked down and swallowed. "I think I probably already know."  
  
Philip tilted his head to the side and smiled bitterly. "That's why I would never give you a sign of respect if my life depended on it," he spat out, nodding to Brady's hand.  
  
Brady sighed as Jason and Mimi glanced at each other in confusion. "Phil, it wasn't that big of a deal, all right? Don't get so melodramatic about it. A kiss is just a kiss."  
  
"Rot in hell, Brady," Philip muttered before leaving the room. Mimi and Jason stood there awkwardly before Mimi spoke up.  
  
"Brady, what--"  
  
"Screw this," Brady said as he went out the door. Mimi threw up her hands and sighed dramatically.  
  
"I wonder what happened."  
  
"I'll tell you what happened."  
  
"What?" Mimi asked excitedly.  
  
"Brady and Phil stuck us with cleaning duty," Jason sighed, pointing to the mess left behind by the fight.  
  
**  
**"How did she get in there? Don't you have the keys?" Belle asked as she and Shawn hurried over to the car.  
  
"Yeah, but I think me and Jase left it unlocked after we carried in the last of the luggage."  
  
The two slowed down when they approached the car. Chloe fell asleep sitting up in the driver's seat and her hair was put up in a sloppy ponytail, with pieces hanging down all over the place. Chloe's face was pale as a ghost and her clothes were all rumpled and wrinkled.   
  
"God, Shawn, is she all right?"  
  
Shawn opened the passenger door and lightly shook Chloe. She murmured lightly and her eyes fluttered open. "Philip...?"  
  
"No, it's me. Shawn."  
  
Chloe bolted up in her seat and tried to look past Shawn's shoulder. "Philip? Where is he?"  
  
Belle squeezed herself in between Shawn and the doorway of the car. "He's probably sleeping inside, Chloe."  
  
"Probably?" Chloe asked, with a slight panic to her voice.  
  
"Chloe, what happened?" Belle asked in a soft tone.  
  
Chloe looked up at Shawn and he nodded without her having to say anything. "I'm gonna go check on Philip," he said to Belle who smiled gently. Shawn pulled Chloe into a bear hug and kissed the top of her head, before leaving for the condo. Belle climbed into the passenger side and shut the door, turning to look at Chloe with patient eyes.  
  
"Oh, God, Belle, I made a horrible mistake..." Chloe sobbed.  
  
"Chloe, you don't have to tell me what happened. Just let me know if you're going to be okay," Belle said, hoping she was hiding the desperation in her voice.  
  
"Belle--I feel so lost. I--I don't even know how I slept. When Philip left to go back in the condo, I just cried myself to sleep. He didn't--he didn't even come and check to see if I was okay all alone out here," Chloe said, trying to get the words out as best she could. Her voice cracked on the last word and she twisted away from Belle. She tried not think about what happened, not wanting to break down in front of her friend. Finally, Chloe envisioned Philip's face--his expression of betrayal, hurt and anger--and she just let the tears flow out. She tried to cry out his face, his pain, but it refused to leave her mind. She had always held back her emotions, always held back what she was feeling. But Chloe couldn't hold back anymore. The foster homes, the emotional and sometimes physical abuse from the families, Chloe could built up walls to protect herself from that. She could escape in fantasy worlds where she'd be singing opera all day and all night. Where love conquers all and Philip will forever be her Prince Charming. But Chloe couldn't escape from her own mistakes. And this was one mistake that she didn't know that she could forgive herself for. Maybe it was just a meaningless kiss...but the pain in Philip's eyes was haunting...and Chloe never wanted anyone to feel as much pain as she had in her past. And the fact she saw someone she loved look at her with disgust...it destroyed her heart.  
  
Belle reached from Chloe's hand and chills went down her back. Chloe was shaking uncontrollably and Belle stared at her, helpless. Chloe sniffed and sighed shakily, staring through the windshield at the condo.   
  
"He hates me, Belle. He really hates me," she whispered, as her body shuddered.  
  
Belle shook her head quickly, frantic to keep Chloe from losing it. "Philip would never hate you, Chloe. Never. He loves you," she said, trying her best to convince her. "He loves you more than the world. Philip...he's never had love before, Chloe. Not from girls, not even from his family really...but i--it's different with you. You're nothing like he's ever had in his life before. He needs you Chloe, like air. And he won't be able to breath without you in his life," Belle said gently, as her own eyes welled with tears. She would give up everything for Chloe to just stop looking...looking so lost and alone.  
  
Chloe slowly lowered her head in Belle's lap and Belle stroked Chloe's hair. Finally, Chloe broke down, letting the sobs run through her body, letting the memory of the night before escape through her tears. The cries shuddered through her body and Chloe gasped, needing to talk. "Philip can breath without me just fine, Belle. I feel like I'm the one who can't breath. Can't think. I--I've lost everything because of one stupid mistake," Chloe shouted through her sobs. She wish she could just stop crying, stop shaking. But the lump in her throat wouldn't go away. The ache in her heart wouldn't go away. The mistake she made would never go away. The only thing...person...that she wanted to keep was gone...   
  
"Philip...don't hate me," Chloe whispered. She repeated it through her sobs as Belle cried silently with her, stroking her hair and pretending it was helping.   
  
**Chapter 18  
  
**Brady sat on the beach as his stomach grumbled. He was starving but definitely didn't want to get back to the condo any time soon. He wiped the area underneath his nose and was relieved it stopped bleeding completely. Brady sighed and looked at the sky. He felt horrible...he tore up a relationship, beat up a friend and probably broke the heart of an innocent girl.  
  
"And all in less than a day," he muttered to himself. "Great job, Brady."  
  
"So, is this a one person conversation or can I join in?" A light female voice asked. Brady looked up to see a pretty girl wearing a tank top and blue jeans. She had long blond hair that curled at the ends and piercing blue-green eyes.  
  
"Heather?" Brady grinned in a happy shock.  
  
"The one and only." Heather Walker was a girl that Brady dated on and off for years. She went off to Salem U. and talked to Brady sometimes through e-mail but it was never the same. She was too concentrated on school and Brady...still needed to figure himself out.   
  
"What are you doing here? I thought you were at Salem U."  
  
"Well," she responded. "Salem U. gets spring break sometimes, too, ya know. Me and a couple of my friends are staying at a hotel nearby. I went for a walk on the beach and saw--an old friend." Brady rolled his eyes of her choice of words. "Hey, um, what happened to your face?" she asked, plopping down on the sand next to Brady.  
  
"Long story."  
  
"You got in between some guy and his girl, huh?"  
  
"OK, story's not so long, I guess."  
  
Heather smiled sadly. "Who's the girl?"  
  
Brady shook his head as he played with the grains of sand beneath his feet. "You wouldn't know her, she's new to Salem."  
  
"One of Belle's friends?"   
  
Brady laughed in disbelief. "Why are you so good at this?"   
  
Heather lightly punched Brady on the shoulder with a smirk on her face. "Because I know you, Brady."  
  
Brady clenched his jaw and sighed. "No, Walker, you really don't. You don't know me."  
  
Heather stood up and began to walk in a circle around Brady. "Oh, I beg to differ. Nobody knows poor Brady Black, except his perky little sis. You're dark...mysterious...dangerous. Except that I've seen you when it's just you and me...definitely not dark. More like dorky. Endearingly dorky. Mysterious...eh...you can put on a good 'I screw with people's minds' game, but I don't buy it as your personality. Just a defense. And dangerous? Only in your dreams, Brady. Wearing black sweaters doesn't equal dangerous." She sat back down with a triumphant grin. Brady sighed and put his chin in between his knees.   
  
"Well, Heath, you pinned me. So, once you strip away the dark, the mysterious and the dangerous...what do you see?" Brady asked bitterly.  
  
Heather looked up in surprise and stammered for an answer.  
  
"Exactly...you see what everyone else sees when I put my defenses down. Nothing. A nobody."  
  
"No, Brady. What I see is someone who lost himself. You were happy, you were trustworthy, you were sweet and caring." Brady grimaced at Heather's words. "What happened to that version of Brady? Because I miss him."  
  
An awkward silence filled the air when Brady's shaky voice broke it.  
  
"Me too."  
  
  
  
"So Brady ran outta here, too," Jason completed, as he and Shawn, who recently walked in the room, swept the rest of the broken glass into the trash can.  
  
Mimi finished straightening out the dresser with a gasp. "God, these boys definitely went all out."  
  
Shawn stretched his arms over his head and frowned. "Hey, um, where _did_ the guys go?"  
  
"Well, Brady's out on the beach talking to that chick he knows," Mimi said, pointing out the window. "We have no idea where Philip is."  
  
"You guys just let Philip walk on out of here?"  
  
"Hey, man," Jason said, putting the trash can in the corner of the room. "You would let Philip go after you saw that fight."  
  
"Yeah, Jase, I bet you were really scared of the guy who got his ass kicked," a groggy voice said behind them.  
  
"Phil!" Shawn shouted, running over and giving him a hug. He coughed and stepped back, a little embarrassed by being affectionate. Philip smiled tightly and walked over to Jason's bed.   
  
"I tried to sleep for a couple of a minutes, but I've got a mother of a headache."  
  
Mimi looked at Philip at pity and sighed, glancing out the window at Brady. She wondered what part Chloe had in all this.  
  
Jason reassuringly patted Philip on the back as Shawn smiled. "Hey, man," he said. "Whatever happened with you and Chloe, I mean, it's gonna be okay between the two of you, right?"  
  
Philip glanced over at Shawn and sank down on the bed. "I--" he cleared his throat before his voice cracked. "I don't know...I want to forgive her...but I don't know if I can forget--" Philip immediately looked down when he felt hot tears spill down his cheeks. Mimi exhaled miserably and walked over to give him a hug.  
  
"It's ok to cry, Phil. Just let it go."  
  
Philip gave a smile to assure her he'd be fine. He paced himself over to the window and watched as Brady talked to a blond girl that looked familiar.   
  
Jason slowly walked over to Philip's side. "What if Chloe apologized for whatever she did to you, right now? What would you say?"  
  
Philip sighed and tried not to get a lump in his throat. "I--I don't...I guess it all depends on what she would say."  
  
"Want to give me a shot then?" The soft, shaky voice startled Philip and he whipped around to find a tearstained Chloe leaning against Belle in the doorway.  
  
  
Belle paced back and forth in the living room with her hands clasped behind her back and glanced nervously to the stairs.  
  
"God, Belle, would you sit down already?" Mimi groaned. "You're making me scared."  
  
Shawn fidgeted on the couch. He wanted to pull Belle in a reassuring kiss but that ruin their sneaking around idea in a hurry. Even though their little game didn't seem as important as Philip and Chloe being okay.  
  
"I just want to know what they're saying," Belle wondered, stealing another glance upstairs.  
  
"Hey, how did you find Chloe anyway?" Jason piped up.  
  
"What?" Belle asked a little too quickly. Shawn cleared his throat.  
  
"Well, you said you found her in the car. Why were you outside by yourself in the rain at five o'clock in the morning?"  
  
Belle looked at Shawn and he shrugged slightly. "Uh...um. I was...uh...taking out the trash." Shawn rolled his eyes and tilted his head back.  
  
"At five in the morning?" Jason asked, raising his eyebrows.   
  
"Yes...um. I couldn't sleep, so I went in the kitchen and...uh...saw the trash...which, um, smelled. Like, really bad. So I took it out," Belle completed her mess of a sentence proudly.  
  
Jason nodded suspiciously, not missing the repeated glances in Shawn's direction. He didn't know what it meant, but he wanted to find out. "So...Shawn, where you? All of a sudden, you walked into our room a little out of breath."  
  
"I was looking for Philip, to see if he was okay," Shawn answered on instinct.  
  
Jason crossed his arms. "How did you know something was wrong? You walked in the bedroom after the fight."  
  
Shawn sighed, not wanting to tell them Chloe sent him after Philip. Jason the New-Born Detective would figure out him and Belle were up together at five in the morning. Then Jason the Sex Fiend would think there's only one thing that can keep two people of the opposite sex up that late.  
  
Thank God for Mimi. "Jesus, Jason, who cares? This isn't some big conspiracy. He probably heard Brady and Phil crashing around in the room." She stood up and went over to Belle, hugging her to stop her from pacing.  
  
All of a sudden, Shawn stood up and crossed his arms. "Hey, where were **you** this morning, Jase? You said you walked in the room with Mimi and broke the fight up."  
  
Mimi grew nervous when Belle pulled back and gave her a curious stare. She hoped Jason came up with a good lie.  
  
"I was making out with Mimi," Jason answered nonchalantly.  
  
Shocked silence filled the air until the words sunk in.  
  
"What?!" Shawn, Belle and Mimi shouted.  



	8. Parts 19 and 20

**Chapter 19  
  
**After the rest of the gang had left the room, Philip stood there, trembling, staring at Chloe. She couldn't take the intensity of his eyes and looked down. Philip went over to the small stereo Jason brought with him and turned it on. He knew that the Beatles' CD was in there and found the track he was searching for. As the song played, Chloe continued to stare at the floor and Philip gazed out the window.  
  
_Yesterday...  
All my troubles seemed so far away  
Now it's looks as though they're here to stay...  
Oh, I believe in yesterday.  
  
_"Philip," Chloe whispered, but his back remained to her.  
  
_Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be  
There's a shadow hanging over me  
Oh yesterday came suddenly...  
Why she had to go, I don't know  
She wouldn't say  
  
_"Philip, I didn't go anywhere," she said, responding to the lyrics. Philip turned to her with tears in his eyes.  
  
"I don't know if I can talk to you right now, Chloe," he said, his voice low. "It's...still hurting."  
  
_I said something wrong and now I long for yesterday  
_  
"Philip, please," Chloe pleaded. "I need this...I need...you."  
  
Philip closed his eyes in confusion. He didn't know what to say, what to do. Here was the love of his life and he couldn't even look at her. Philip just wanted to forget last night, forget what she said, and kiss her and hug her and just be with her. Be happy with her.  
_  
Yesterday...love was just such an easy game to play  
  
_Philip nodded slightly, agreeing to hear what she had to say. Chloe swallowed nervously and shifted her feet. She thought she cried all her tears out with Belle in the car, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the tears starting streaming down her face. Philip's eyes filled with misery as he wanted to go and hug her, and make the tears go away. He wanted to make his tears go away too. Philip just wanted this whole nightmare to go away.  
  
_And now I need a place to hide away  
  
_Chloe cleared her throat and took a step forward. She winced when Philip took a step back and leaned against the wall. "Philip...I. I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I didn't kiss Brady because I loved him. I don't even care for him. Hell, Philip I can hardly stand him, you know that."  
  
"I thought I knew that," he muttered.  
  
_Oh I believe in yesterday  
  
_"I was so scared, Philip...I've never been more afraid of anyone than you." Philip looked up at her in shock and hurt. "I mean...I mean, I love you, Philip. But...you're the first person I ever wanted to...to put all of my trust in. And that scares me. Every time I put my trust in someone's hands, they crush it. And I was so afraid it would happen with you, and I didn't want to lose you."  
  
"So you kissed another guy? Oh, yeah, that's a way to keep me, Chloe."  
  
_Why she had to go  
I don't know she wouldn't say  
  
_"I didn't know if I could trust your feelings, Philip! No one ever felt the way you have for me. Never. So when Brady started putting those ideas in my head, I...my fear grew. I needed to know this wasn't just a game. That we weren't just another thing to put on my list of things that hurt me. So when I kissed him, it was to see if our love was real. I wanted to know this wasn't just a fairy tale, a mere crush. And when I felt absolutely nothing, I knew...I knew the only one I wanted to kiss was you. I knew I could trust you...trust us."  
  
"Can you trust yourself, though, Chloe?"  
  
"W--What?"  
  
"Because I sure as hell don't know if I can. Chloe, do you think life has been easy for me? It's scary for everyone to trust and to love. Sure, of course, it's harder on you because of your past. But did you even think once that you were breaking my trust in you? I gave you everything I got, Chloe...and you couldn't even give me your trust. And you kiss someone else, and take even more away from me. So I don't know what you want from me...I've got nothing left to give you."  
  
"Philip--"  
  
"I mean, did you even love me at all?"  
  
_I said something wrong   
  
_"Yes!" Chloe yelled immediately. "Yes, of course I did...I still do! When I kissed Brady, all I could think was that it was wrong. That he wasn't love, he wasn't you! I just needed to know Philip. I needed to know. Every time I turned around, someone stabbed me in the back. Do you know how scary it was for me to all of a sudden fall in love with you? And, yes, I know it wasn't a piece of cake for you, either. But you've had friends who cared for you. You've trusted people before. I haven't. You've had girlfriends before. I've never had a boyfriend before you. And...and when I started getting all these feelings for you, I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to get my heart broken again by finding out that we didn't have love, that it was all a mistake. I was confused and rushed, and even though it was a horrible way, kissing Brady was the first thing that came to mind. Because it was convenient. I just wanted to find out that your kisses were different...that the way you brushed your fingers through my hair was different...the way you held me was different. And it was, Philip. It is. Because we are in love. Please, Philip. Please, you have to forgive me."  
  
_And now I long for yesterday..._  
  
Philip's tears wouldn't stop falling down his face. It would be so easy to just walk over and kiss her, murmur that he forgave her with all of his heart.   
  
"Chloe...I...really don't know what to do. But...I understand."  
  
"You do?"   
  
"I do."  
  
Chloe ran over to Philip and threw her arms around his neck. She slowly drew back when he remained stiff and unresponsive.  
  
"Philip--?"  
  
_Yesterday...love was such an easy game to play_  
  
"I understand. And I know why you did what you did. I don't think you're lying at all. But I'm not sure...I'm not sure if I can get over this."  
  
Chloe's sob ripped through her throat without warning. She sunk to her knees, thinking she lost the only person who ever loved her. As she cried, she felt Philip's arm wrap around her shoulders.  
  
"Chloe...I'm not saying good-bye."  
  
She looked up at him and sniffed. "What?"  
  
_And now I need a place to hide away_  
  
"You haven't lost me. I...I can't just let you go out of my life. But...you made a mistake, Chloe. A big one."  
  
"But--but you said--"  
  
"That I don't know if I can get over this. I just need some time, Chloe. I...I need time to rebuild our trust together. So do you. If you feel the need to kiss Brady to find trust in me...you need some time too. And I think you know that."  
  
Chloe looked up at him with pain in her eyes. "So...when you say...need some time. Are we...not together anymore?"  
  
Philip pulled Chloe in a hug. "Come here. You'll always be my girl, Chloe. What I'm saying is that we just can't move on, skip off and pretend this never happened. I can forgive this, but it's going to take me a while to forget it. So things are going...to be different for a while. We're just going to have figure out how...how to rebuild our trust," he repeated softly. "We have to move on and work this out...together." He said, sighing. He put his chin on her head.  
  
"How?" Chloe asked softly.  
  
Philip put his chin on her head. "I don't know."  
  
_Oh, I believe in yesterday.  
  
****_  
  
"You were what?" Belle shouted.  
  
"Making out with Mimi," Jason shrugged. Mimi glared at him and he shrugged again. "What? We were."  
  
Shawn plopped down on the couch in shock, then turned to Jason with a sly grin on his face. "Nice going, man." Jason grinned back and they nudged each other's elbows. Belle shook her head in disgust and Mimi stood there with her mouth open.  
  
"Mimi? Is he serious?" Belle asked.  
  
Mimi put one hand on her hip and the other brushed back the hair on her forehead. "Yes. He's serious." Belle smacked Mimi's shoulder. "Ow! Belle!"  
  
"God, Mimi, what were you thinking?"  
  
"Gee, thanks, Belle," Jason said, rolling his eyes.**  
**  
"You hate him!" She continued, ignoring Jason.  
  
Jason stood up. "Oh, please, go on. You're so good for my ego, Belle."  
  
"Shut up, Jason!" Belle and Mimi shouted at the same time.  
  
Shawn buried his face in a pillow to keep from laughing and Jason sat back down. "Phew. Welcome to PMS Central." Mimi shot Jason a warning glance and he pointed to Shawn, accusing him of the comment.  
  
"He was just teaching me how to kiss, that's all!" Mimi yelled frantically. "Trust me, it's not like me and him are going to go pick daisies together and skip off into the sunset hand-in-hand."  
  
"Um, who actually does that anyway?" Mimi tensely turned to Jason who bit his lip.  
  
"Do you ever shut up?!" Mimi shouted.  
  
"I like to keep my mouth working every minute, you know that," Jason said, winking.  
  
Mimi gave up in exasperation and turned back to Belle, who's eyes were still wide from surprise. "Belle, don't worry. He--he was like a teacher. But far from boyfriend material." Belle nodded and relaxed. Jason crossed his arms as he wondered why that comment affected him. It's not like he wanted to be Mimi's boyfriend. He sighed in frustration as Shawn glanced over at him. Shawn smirked, realizing that Jason obviously had something going on for Mimi. He shook his head in amusement. _What loser would want to deny his feelings for a girl that he obviously liked? What a coward. He should just tell her, _he thought, staring happily at Belle.  
  
The four heard footsteps and turned to see Chloe and Philip walking silently down the stairs. A second later, Brady and a familiar-looking blond girl entered from the front door. The two couples stared at each other in stony silence.  
  
"Well, then," Jason muttered. "Glad this trip hasn't turned into one big awkward mess!"   
  
**Chapter 20  
**  
"Heather!" Belle squealed, forgetting about the tension for a minute after seeing the girl. Heather always treated her like a little sister and she was so happy to see her--with Brady.  
  
"Hey Tink!" Heather said, giving a hug to Belle. She shot a sideways glance as Brady frowned. She used to adopt the nickname from Brady all the time just to piss him off. Still worked.  
  
Belle pulled away as Philip and Chloe stood off awkwardly near the stairs. "How are you? You look great! What are you doing here? Did you get highlights?"  
  
Heather laughed...she was glad some people just never change. She stole another glance at Brady. After him admitting he also missed being the old lighthearted Brady, she asked him to try and bring that Brady back. He immediately changed the subject, suggesting to go see Belle at the condo. Heather gave in, knowing arguing with Brady was like walking on a treadmill--you never get anywhere. "I'm great, thank you, I'm here for spring break and yes. You're the first person who noticed the highlights! Of course."  
  
Belle was about to ask if her and Brady were going to hook up again when she saw Brady's face. She sighed...it looked bad, but Philip looked worse. As soon as that thought entered her mind, she whipped around. Philip was glaring down Brady as Chloe uncomfortably shifted her weight.  
  
"Um...maybe we should leave you guys alone." Belle said slowly.  
  
"No," Philip said immediately. "You don't need to go. We have nothing to say to each other."  
  
"Phil, I really am sorry," Brady said, stepping forward. "For everything."  
  
"That's great, Brady. Once you turn back the clocks and erase all this bullshit, let me know. I'll be sure to forgive you," Philip said, storming out of the house.  
  
"Philip!" Chloe protested after him. Brady looked over at Chloe with sadness in his eyes.   
  
"Chloe...I'm so sorry--"  
  
"Don't. Not now, Brady." Chloe said before running after Philip. Brady exhaled and ran up the stairs. Heather looked at the gang apologetically before following him.  
  
The four teens sat in silence.   
  
"God, even _Passions_ doesn't have stuff this chaotic," Mimi muttered under her breath._  
  
  
A few days later_  
Heather walked over to her desk and grinned, grabbing a Polaroid she and Brady took the other day at the beach. She was sitting on his shoulders and Brady had a huge goofy grin on his face. Heather sat down her bed and wondered how things at the condo were going. Philip spent most of his time jet-skiing or swimming alone and Chloe read or spent time with the girls all week. Belle told her that Philip wasn't spending a lot of time with Chloe because he needed the rest of the week to think things out on his own. Philip promised Chloe to work on their relationship when they arrived home. Heather hoped he stuck to his promise and that Philip wasn't afraid of working on a relationship that love usually came easily to. Later, Brady told Heather that he hardly got to spend time with Belle since she always at the beach with Shawn...he wondered what was so important that those two had to talk about it for a week. He also loved telling the latest stories about Jason, who still gave Mimi "lessons" every night. Turned out Jason talked about Mimi every night when Brady was trying to sleep but frantically denied he had feelings for the girl.  
  
"Mimi wore blue today. I love when she wears blue. Jan never looked so great in blue, ya know? But blue's my favorite color. Not that I like Mimi or anything," Brady mocked Jason one night for Heather as she cracked up.  
  
And then there was Brady himself. Since Belle basically disappeared, Philip and Chloe were ignoring him and his roommate was a major pain in the ass, Brady spent most of his time with Heather. She curled up on her bed and sighed...he definitely was more confusing than ever. Sometimes when Heather would bring up some of their past times, like when they got in a pudding fight one night, she would see flashes of the Brady she used to know.  
  
She remembered how Brady's eyes lit up when Heather reminded him of The Great Pudding War, as she called it.  
  
_Heather made the pudding and had put the snack in the fridge for nearly forever. Brady decided to sneak a taste and spit it out in disgust. It was lumpy and overly-chocolately, he complained. Heather didn't see how anything could be overly-chocolately. As they had argued in the kitchen over chocolate, Heather grew fed up, stuck her hand in the bowl and smeared the pudding over Brady's face. Brady stood their in shock before grinning.  
  
"Well, Heather, dear, I have a weapon," he said, holding up the spoon. He flung the pudding, which landed in her hair.   
  
"That's it," she had screamed. "It's on!" After ten minutes, they had pudding all over their clothes, the kitchen and their hair. _   
  
Heather grinned when Brady commented that despite her being covered in lumpy pudding, she looked as beautiful as ever. He remembered how they kissed on the kitchen counter for an hour, the Great Pudding War getting his vote for most bizarre turn-on. But those moments of Brady complimenting, Brady laughing, Brady joking...they were rare. But Heather held hope in her heart...even though they were scarce, the moments were still there. She planned on helping Brady break down the wall he built ever since his mishaps with Marlena. Heather had to...she was still in love with him.   
  
  
_On the Beach  
_Belle hummed to herself as she drew circles in the sand. The gang was leaving tomorrow morning and things were definitely weird. She felt bad not being there for Chloe or Philip more, but they insisted Belle enjoy her spring break. Belle looked up to see Shawn slowly walk out of the ocean and she swallowed nervously. As a soaking-wet, bare-chested Shawn flashed his famous grin, Belle blushed. She was definitely enjoying her spring break, there was no question.  
  
Shawn ran over and tackled Belle onto the sand as she screamed. "Shawn! You're all wet!" Shawn remained on top of Belle and smiled down at her.  
  
"Well, Miss Black, I do believe you were gawking at me."  
  
"Mr. Brady, I do believe you are delusional."  
  
"Am I?" Shawn said softly, bringing his face closer to Belle's.  
  
"No." She met his lips and they rolled over. As they were kissing, Belle felt something hit the back of her bathing suit top. She pulled away and gave Shawn an accusing stare.  
  
"What?"  
  
"What did you put on my back?"  
  
"Nothing, I swear."  
  
Belle stood up and she felt something gooey slowly drip down her back. "Ew! Shawn, what did you do?!"  
  
Shawn got up also and turned Belle's back to him. He bust out into laughter.  
  
"Shawn! What?!"  
  
"It's bird poop!"  
  
  
Belle hurried to the downstairs bathroom, screeching in disgust all the way. Shawn waited outside the door and Belle opened it a crack.   
  
"Here, take this," she said, handing him the stained bathing suit. "At least the ocean washed it all off my skin," she called out through the door, as she searched for soap. Belle turned on the bathroom sink and scrubbed quickly away.  
  
Shawn wrinkled his nose in disgust and ran the suit under the sink. "Ya know, I was hoping the first time you gave me your clothes, it would be a lot sexier than this."  
  
After a few minutes, he heard the door crack open. "How about this?" Belle said, emerging from the bathroom with a short white towel wrapped around her.  
  
Shawn dropped the suit in the sink and left the water running. He was practically frozen. "Belle Black, what are you trying to do to me?" he said lowly.  
  
Belle just grinned and walked over to Shawn slowly. She spun around in a purposefully slow circle before Shawn grabbed her by the hips.   
  
"Careful!" she shouted, giggling. Belle shuffled her feet, still feeling nervous about being so intimate with Shawn. "I don't want this towel unwrapping."  
  
"I don't think I would mind," Shawn whispered before kissing her. They backed up against the counter and Shawn pulled away, grinning. "I always wanted to do something." He moved Belle away from the counter and stepped back, as he tried to wipe the contents on the counter off smooothly with one hand. But since the counter was so long, the items just piled on top of each other near the end of it. Belle tried to suppress a laugh as Shawn sighed and neatly gathered up the items and placed them on the opposite counter. Shawn turned back to Belle with a sheepish grin as she giggled. He picked Belle up and dumped her ungracefully on the edge of the counter.  
  
"Ow," Belle said, laughing nervously.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, are you ok?" Shawn asked, concerned. Belle nodded and leaned back and Shawn forgot all of his nervousness once he remembered what she was wearing. Or what she wasn't wearing. He climbed on top of her and she lied down on the counter. They kissed hungrily as Shawn's hand rubbed Belle's calf and slowly ran its way up her thigh.  
  
"What the--?"   
  
Shawn lifted his head and immediately jumped off Belle. Belle sat up, turned around and her jaw opened in surprise.  
  
"Brady!"


	9. Parts 21 and 22

**Chapter 21  
**Chloe looked out the window and sighed. She didn't know a trip to Florida would turn her and Philip into strangers. Of course, he told her he needed time to himself to think things out. And he said the time for them to work things out together would start once they got back to Salem. But Chloe didn't know he meant she would hardly see him. Philip always headed out to the ocean for some new thing, went about town with Jason sometimes...and he always came in the room at night when Chloe was already in bed. Chloe closed her eyes and began to sing along with the radio.   
  
Philip entered the room, thinking Chloe would be asleep already. He stopped and leaned against the doorway, watching her every moment.  
  
_I stood on mountain tops that overlooked the world  
I can't find anything except a void inside  
I went to places where I could forget your name  
I can't find anything except a void inside  
  
I don't have anything  
Because I don't have you  
I don't have anything  
  
_Philip cleared his throat and Chloe spun around. "Philip," she breathed. He immediately closed his eyes...his heart ached for the way she said his name. Chloe turned the radio off and slowly approached him.  
  
"Hi, Chloe," Philip said, staring at his feet.  
  
"Hi." They stood there in silence and the tension was unbearable. Chloe went to hold Philip's hand but stopped when she saw Philip's face tense up. She turned her back to him so he wouldn't see her eyes tear up. Philip sighed and lightly touched her shoulder.   
  
"Time, Chloe. Please. I don't hate you. I'll always love you. I just need--"  
  
"Time," Chloe finished, nodding. Philip hung his head miserably and decided it wouldn't hurt to give her a comforting hug. Before he could reach out for her, they heard Belle scream Brady's name. Philip sighed as Chloe bolted from the room and he eventually followed her out.  
  
  
The door creaked open slowly and Jason tiptoed his way across the dark bedroom. After Brady left to go downstairs to give Heather a late night call, Jason decided to pay his make-out buddy a little visit. Unfortunately, she was already sleeping...right as he turned to leave, Mimi stirred and mumbled. Interested, Jason blindly tried to find his way to Mimi's bed. He sat down on the edge of her bed and saw her smile blissfully. He brushed back pieces of hair off her forehead and wondered what she was dreaming. She looked like an...angel. Jason looked away from Mimi's face in horror. An angel? God, he was turning into Philip Kirikias. He swallowed nervously. He couldn't be gaining feelings for Mimi Lockhart. He sighed...great, now he was turning into Shawn Brady. No! Shawn denied his actual feelings...Jason didn't have any feelings towards Mimi to deny. He looked down at the girl and smiled...after their "lessons", they would stay up and talk...he had to admit, Mimi always made him laugh. She acted differently than she did in school...more free-spirited. Jason sighed as he tried to clear his thoughts. He just couldn't get feelings for Mimi because...well, because...he just couldn't. "Jason and Mimi"? It never would fit and it never will.  
  
Mimi let out a little moan and Jason froze. She definitely wasn't dreaming about shopping.   
  
"Yes..." she whispered and Jason leaned closer. He wondered who she could--  
  
"Jason..." Jason jumped from the bed and stared at Mimi. He couldn't even think. He shifted his feet nervously and jumped again when Mimi moaned his name louder. Oh, god. He had to get out of this room...he could only imagine what she was dreaming. Only Jason's feet refused to move from the spot on the floor. Jason could definitely take advantage of this situation. He imagined Mimi waking up from a wild dream to find her fantasy staring right at her in her room. Jason grinned to himself when Mimi moaned, practically screamed, his name. Then, he frowned when she burst out laughing. That's not a good sign, he thought.  
  
Jason groaned to himself when Mimi sat up in her bed, hysterically laughing. "Oh, Jase, you're just too easy to fool."  
  
Jason crossed his arms. "How did you--?"  
  
Mimi rolled her eyes. "Oh, it was a very complicated process, let me tell ya. See, my eyes were open when you came in here. When you got close by, I--get this--closed them!" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Then I simply fake-moaned your name to get a rise out of you."  
  
The two of them winced at the same time at her choice of words. Mimi cleared her voice to break the silence. "After all, I have a lot of practice faking when I'm with you, anyway."  
  
Jason gave her a sexy smirk and Mimi gulped. "Honey, I know moans. You ain't faking anything."  
  
Mimi averted her eyes from Jason. A month ago, if anyone told her that she'd be in a dark bedroom alone with Jason Welles talking about moans, she would have laughed in their face.   
  
Jason set himself on Mimi's bed and sat closely next to her. He rubbed his leg against hers slowly. "I think it's time to move on from making out and give you the next lesson."  
  
Mimi looked up at Jason nervously and he gave her a mischievous grin. "The next...?"  
  
"Well, when the time comes, you're gonna have to learn how to take off a guy's clothes."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Well, you can't very well have sex fully dressed. Didn't you ever get the facts of life talk, Meems?"  
  
"I'm not going to have sex with you, Jason," Mimi yelled angrily.  
  
"I didn't say we were going to have sex! I said, you'll learn the art of sexily stripping off a guy's clothes. Trust me, if I thought you'd be up for a sex lesson, do you think we'd just be kissing every night?" Mimi rolled her eyes in disgust.  
  
"So what do you want from me, Jase?"  
  
"Oh, Mimi, I wouldn't word your question like that...because I want a lot of things.." Jason growled, suddenly rolling ontop of her. Mimi gasped as Jason put his lips to her ear. "And I always get what I want," he whispered before sliding down a little to kiss her neck.   
  
Mimi swallowed nervously. All of a sudden, this didn't feel like a tutorial anymore. "Jason...what...kinda lesson is this supposed to be?" she breathed.  
  
"Going with it. Spontaneity. Surprises," he said in between his kisses.  
  
"What about--?"  
  
Jason looked up. "What, Meems, you're disappointed that I won't be giving the lesson on how to take off a guy's clothes while being sexy about it?", he said smiling.  
  
Mimi sighed in frustration. This whole Jason-Knows-All/Mimi-Knows-Nothing was starting to get to her. "Who said I needed lessons on that?" she blurted out. Jason looked at in her surprise but recovered. This could be very beneficial for him.  
  
"I said so. I doubt you can if you're so inexperienced," Jason said, before going for her neck again with his lips. Mimi was silent and Jason guessed it wasn't a challenge after all. All of a sudden, Mimi roughly rolled herself on top of Jason. She sat up and straddled him with her legs. "Try me," she said lowly. Before Jason could even make sense of what was happening, Mimi started kissing Jason's collarbone and pulled herself slowly down his body. She undid every button on his shirt with her teeth and Jason was in shock. This could not be Mimi Lockhart. She kissed his stomach and worked her way down to his pants. Jason stifled a moan when he realized what she was doing. She undid the easy snap button with her teeth and took the zipper in-between her lips. As Mimi pulled down the zipper with her mouth, Jason swallowed nervously. How far exactly was she going to go?   
  
All of a sudden, they heard Belle scream out Brady's name. Mimi immediately sat up and didn't even look at Jason before bolting out of the room. Jason rebuttoned his shirt and zipped up his pants, panting on the bed. He gave himself time to relax before leaving the room, still in a shock. What had just happened? Who was that person and what had she done to Mimi? Mimi wasn't anywhere to be found in the hallway and Jason worked his way downstairs.   
  
Meanwhile, Mimi stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. She didn't know what came over her. She just wanted to prove to Jason she had some tricks up her own sleeve also. But even Mimi didn't know she had that many tricks. She slowly grinned at herself in the mirror. How many girls could say they shook up Jason Welles' nerves? Mimi walked out of the bathroom to make sure Belle was all right.  
  
  
Belle jumped off the counter as Shawn stood near her, trying to look brave. Brady crossed his arms with a pissed off look on his face.  
  
"You know, I come downstairs to make a call to Heather. And look what I find instead."  
  
"Brady, I can explain," Shawn said, swallowing. Belle cleared her throat nervously.  
  
"Really? All right, Shawn. I want you to explain why you're just wearing that," he said, pointing to Shawn's swimming trunks. "And why my little sister is just wearing that," pointing to Belle's short towel. "And I want you to explain why you were mauling her on the kitchen counter in the middle of the night. Can you explain all that, Shawn?"  
  
"Uh...um...yes," Shawn stammered.  
  
"All right then. You've got two minutes before I pound in your face."  
  
Shawn gulped. "Brady, I just wanted to let you know that--"  
  
"One minute and fifty-five seconds," Brady said, looking at his watch.  
  
"Ok! Ok. We were at the beach. That's why I'm just wearing my bathing suit. And we lost track of time again, which is why we're down here so late. And, um, a bird pooped on Belle." Brady rose his eyebrows in disbelief and Shawn rushed to the sink to get her bathing suit. Brady wrinkled his nose at the stained suit and Shawn tossed it back in the sink. "So she changed into the towel, which is the only thing she had down here, while I washed her bathing suit."  
  
"Ok. Fair enough," Brady said, nodding his head. Shawn sighed out of relief as Brady walked over to him, placing his hand on Shawn's shoulder. However, Shawn grimaced when Brady tightened his grip threateningly. "But you still have...one minute to explain what you were doing with your hands all over her."   
  
Belle uncomfortably shifted her weight. "Brady, stop--"  
  
"Now, Belle, it's Shawn's turn...he's still got...fifty seconds before he gets acquainted with my fist," Brady said, never taking his eyes off the frantic Shawn. "Well?"  
  
Shawn looked at Belle pleadingly but all she could do was shrug helplessly. Shawn turned back to Brady.  
  
"Hmm...fourty seconds. Clock is ticking, pal."  
  
"Because Belle and I are in love, Brady!" Shawn shouted. Brady immediately dropped his hand from Shawn's shoulder and gaped at him. Belle looked up in surprise when she heard four collective gasps--Mimi, Jason, Chloe and Philip were standing in the kitchen's doorway. Belle herself had to collect her thoughts after hearing Shawn's annoucement. It was definitely bold of him to stand up to Brady like that and Belle inched closer, ready to pull Brady off of Shawn. Belle smiled to herself..._because Belle and I are in love!_ She waited to hear those words forever...hopefully, it wouldn't be ruined by Brady.  
  
Shawn closed his eyes in anticipation of Brady's fist. He knew he put up a good fight himself, but he thought Philip could too. However, he saw Phil's face after Brady was through and it wasn't pretty. Shawn just hoped Brady wouldn't mess him up too bad--Shawn wanted to look as good as possible for his upcoming surprise for Belle. Shawn slowly opened his eyes when he realized Brady's fist never came. Brady was still staring at Shawn in shock...as well as the rest of the gang. Shawn suddenly felt very uncomfortable and he shuffled his feet.  
  
"In...love?" Brady repeated slowly.   
  
Shawn nodded. "I am hopelessly in love with your beautiful, sweet, amazing...perfect...sister." Belle's eyes immediately welled up with tears. Mimi put her hand to her chest and Chloe smiled widely as Philip and Jason gave each other a glance. Was this really Shawn Brady? He actually was admitting what everyone knew all along?  
  
Brady took in a breath and looked over at Belle. She was staring at Shawn and his heart immediately softened. He could see the happiness in her eyes...finally. Belle had been through so much lately, most of what had been Brady's fault. And now something she has been waiting for, wishing for, has finally come true for her. Belle deserved it and Brady would be damned before he took away from Belle's happiness again.  
  
Brady outstretched his hand and Shawn looked down in shock. He then grabbed Brady's hand as they shaked, grinning at each other. Brady then turned to Belle, enwrapping her in a huge bear hug. Belle's tears fell after watching Brady's acceptance and she whole-heartedly returned the hug. "I'm so happy for you, Tink," he whispered. "Now go put some clothes on, okay?" Belle laughed and nodded. But before she could move, Chloe and Mimi ran over to her squealing. The three girls laughed and hugged as the guys shook their heads. Girls. Lovey-dovey stuff made them so silly.  
  
Brady turned back to Shawn. "Listen. I have two rules for you." Shawn nodded, just happy that he made it out of this fiasco unscathed. "One, I'm not stupid. I know your not going to keep your hands off. Obviously, from what I just saw," Shawn frowned when he saw Brady's eyes cloud over in anger again. "But I don't ever want to actually see you touching her again. You won't get off so easily next time." Shawn nodded again, keeping silent. "Two, if you ever hurt her, Shawn, I swear--"  
  
"I'm not going to hurt Belle," Shawn said firmly. Brady smiled and patted him on the back, before walking over to the phone. Shawn rolled his eyes when he saw Brady tell Belle to go change. Philip approached Shawn and nudged him with his elbow.   
  
"Never thought I'd see the day, man," Philip said and Shawn could just laugh in response. He looked over at Belle, who was recounting their first kiss for Chloe and Mimi.   
  
Jason leaned against the doorway and grinned at Shawn. He said what was on the back of everyone's minds.   
  
"It's about damn time."   
  
**Chapter 22  
**  
Philip dropped the last of the bags down on the floor and plopped down on the couch in exhaustion. "Thanks for the help, guys," he said sarcastically.  
  
Shawn, who's arms were wrapped around Belle's waist from behind, smiled. "Hey, you only had to carry **one** of Belle's bags. I wasn't so lucky...I'm needing some time to rest my muscles."  
  
Belle rolled her eyes. "What muscles?" she teased.  
  
Shawn gasped mockingly and began to tickle her sides as Belle squealed. Philip couldn't help but smile. Now that Shawn and Belle revealed all, they were almost amazing to watch. The two made the transition from friends to a couple an unbumpy one. Mimi did tell Philip that Belle sometimes felt awkward being intimiate with Shawn, since he was always his her best friend. Now he was her best friend with his tongue down her throat.  
  
Philip looked out the window to see Brady and Jason loading the bags into the rent-a-car. Chloe was talking on the porch with Mimi, who was shaking her head sympathetically. Philip sighed...he knew Chloe was probably talking about their relationship. Philip felt butterflies in his stomach because he still didn't know what to do to make everything perfect again. Shawn had tried to convince him that every relationship has problems, but Philip knew that Chloe was the problem. He loved her so much, but he had enough of her acting like she is the only one that could possibly get hurt in a relationship. Philip hung his head...maybe he was overexaggerating to himself. He knew it was time to talk to Chloe.  
  
  
"I'll go get the rest from inside," Jason said after putting another bag in the trunk. Brady nodded and stretched his arms over his head. Suddenly, he felt two arms wrap around his waist and he turned around.  
  
"Heather," Brady said, smiling.  
  
Heather threw her arms around Brady's neck and he hugged her waist. "Hiya, Brady."  
  
"I didn't think--"  
  
"What? You didn't think I was going to come and say good-bye?"  
  
"Well, your coming back to Salem tomorrow anyway. And, well, I...I know this week has...well..."  
  
Heather grinned at Brady's loss for words. "Has been utterly confusing."  
  
Brady smiled sadly. "I don't know what's going on with me, Walker. I saw you again...and you make me want to..."  
  
"Be a better man?" Heather teased, using the pick-up line used by millions of guys ever since _As Good As It Gets_ priemered.   
  
Heather felt her throat get dry when Brady didn't smile back. "No. Just be the man I used to be."  
  
Heather sighed. "Which would be a better man, Brady." He grimaced and she stepped away. "For most of this week, I've felt like I've been with a stranger. I mean, come on, Brady. You beat up Phil for no good reason, Belle told me you insult Marlena every day, you hardly ever smile anymore. What the hell happened?"  
  
Brady looked down and Heather saw a flash of sadness in his eyes. "My...my mother..."  
  
Heather held up her hands. "No, it isn't because your mother died when you were so young. I am so sorry it happened but if that's the reason, you would have been like this your entire life."  
  
Brady's eyes clouded over with anger and Heather looked away. Seeing him this way was hard to watch when she knew what used to be there. "Let me finish, Heather," he growled.  
  
Heather looked up and approached him. "Don't even pull that with me, Brady. Don't ever talk to me like that."  
  
Brady sighed. "Your right, I'm sorry, Heather. It's just...Marlena."  
  
"Look, Brady, I know this has all been hard on you. You're thinking your dad replaced Isabella with Marlena, and now your all about taking it out on that poor woman."  
  
"That poor woman?! Her?"  
  
"She's the only Marlena I know! She did nothing to you when you first came back, and niether did your dad. But the day you move back in, all of a sudden, your an ungrateful brat! And this little making-my-father-and-stepmother-guilty routine got old real quick. You wonder why we lost touch? All you wrote about was how your out to make John feel guilty for marrying Marlena and Marlena guilty for 'stealing' Isabella's place. And then you got caught up in your new game and it became, like, your personality."  
  
"You really think that?" Brady asked tensely, his voice rising.  
  
"Yes, Brady. God, I know everyone changes, but you became like a different person."  
  
"You have Marlena to blame for that--"  
  
"Brady, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so harsh. But you have to wake up! Your almost twenty years old now, it's time to stop playing these games with everyone. The only one you spare from your bull is Belle. You live in a beautiful place, you have a dad and a sister who love you to death, you're smart, althetic, gorgeous...and I'm sure if you gave Marlena a chance, she'd accept you, too. You could have everything, Brady. Why are you throwing it all away?" Heather yelled, her eyes stinging with tears. _Why did you throw me away,_ she thought.  
  
Brady took a deep breath. She was too close to getting in. "The Brady that you knew doesn't exist anymore because he always got hurt. He was caring, as you've so often pointed out, and it was never returned to him. So he got the hint. Being nice was highly overrated. I like the way I am now. I don't trust anyone, so I can't get hurt. And I'm never going to let that happen to me again. **I'm** the one hurting other people now, giving them what they gave me. And I don't plan on changing." He crossed his arms. "For anyone."  
  
Heather's mouth opened in shock and then her eyes filled with rage. Her hand flew up and it made contact with the side of his face. Brady stood there in shock and rubbed his cheek with his hand. "Heather, what the hell?!"  
  
Heather tossed her hair over her shoulder. "If you ever decide to become a man again, you know where to reach me." And with that, Heather turned on her heel and stormed away.  
  



	10. Parts 23, 24 and 25

**Chapter 23  
_How about we just pretend the K-Mansion didn't burn down? :)_  
  
**_A week later****_  
Shawn and Jason watched Philip as he paced around his room with his hands clasped behind his back. Shawn ran his hand through his hair...they arrived at Philip's so they could all go to school together. Instead, they were sitting in his room for fifteen minutes and the only words Philip had gotten out, under his breath, were:  
  
"Uh."  
"Damn Brady."  
"Chloe..."  
"Um..."  
  
After a few more minutes, Jason finally stood up and glared at Philip. "Look, Phil, if your not going to say anything, I'm leaving."  
  
Shawn laughed as he twirled a daisy in-between his fingers. He had been giving daisies to Belle everyday at school, all to lead up to his surprise. Sure, it really had nothing in common with his surprise, but he just thought it would be sweet. He smiled to himself...now that he just called himself sweet, Mr.I-Won't-Ever-Fall-in-Love knew he was whipped.   
  
"Leave for school or for another 'class' with a certain Miss Lockhart?" he asked.  
  
Jason grinned sheepishly as Philip sat down in relief. The pressure was off of him and onto Jason. Jason shrugged and said, "Hey, man, I'm just saying...watch Philip pace...or make out with a cute girl...what would you choose?"  
  
"See where your comin from, man."  
  
Philip shook his head in disbelief. "I still can't believe that Mimi bought your bull."  
  
"What? It's not bull." Philip laughed and threw a football at Jason's head, which he easily dodged. "Dude, what the hell was that for?"  
  
"I was hoping to knock some sense in your idiotic skull."  
  
Shawn nodded in agreement. "I mean, kissing lessons? We all know Meems ain't the brightest crayon in the box, but she's not **that** slow."  
  
Jason shifted his feet nervously. "What...the kissing lessons thing isn't believable?"  
  
Philip shook his head. "Hell, no, man. Any girl could see through that...you just want to make out with some girl you like."  
  
"I don't like Mimi!" Jason protested.  
  
"Chloe saw through it," Philip continued, ignoring Jason's comment.  
  
Jason paused. "She did?"  
  
"Belle did, too," Shawn said.  
  
Jason plopped down on a chair. "What did they say?"  
  
"That you like Mimi--" Shawn started.  
  
"And your using this lie to kiss her without having to worry about a relationship," Philip finished.  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence until Jason sunk further into his chair. "Damn," he sighed. "They're good."  
  
"So you **do** like Mimi," Philip pointed out with a triumphant grin.  
  
"No!" Jason shouted, jumping up. Philip and Shawn exchanged a knowing glance. "I mean, what happened in Daytona, stays in Daytona, right? It's time to move on to a new, um, object of study."  
  
Shawn and Philip rose their eyebrows at Jason, who stared back at them.  
  
"Your not buying any of this, are you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Dammit!" Jason yelled, as he flung himself down on the bed. "You know, I didn't like her at first...it started off as I get to pass the time by making out with some chick. But then she started, like, talking!" he complained.  
  
Shawn rolled his eyes. "Yeah, people sometimes do that."  
  
Jason chose to ignore him. "I mean, when Jan talked, I always felt like throwing myself out a window."  
  
"Funny, I always feel like throwing **her** out a window," Philip muttered.  
  
"But when Mimi talks," Jason continued, lost in his thoughts. "It's great. She makes me laugh, she has these great stories, she listens to me and she's...she's just so awesome."  
  
"So ask her out," Philip sighed.  
  
"No," Jason said immediately. "She's not into me like that. On the plane back home, after we admitted we were actually getting along, she called me her...friend."  
  
Shawn groaned in memory of the painful word. "Hey, look. You may think its the kiss of death, but sometimes its not! Look at me and Belle."  
  
Jason nodded thoughtfully as Philip jumped in. "Yeah, and remember how we said no girl would fall for that 'lessons' crap? Well, maybe Mimi is just playing along because **she** likes **you**."  
  
Jason grinned hopefully. "Yeah?" Philip and Shawn shook their heads in the affirmative, and Jason smiled even wider. "All right, man! I'm going to ask her out!"  
  
"Good," Shawn mumbled. "Cause everyone pretty much knows about your, uh, lessons at school, anyway."  
  
"What?! How?"  
  
"That girl Mandy overheard Belle and Mimi talking about it in Chemistry yesterday. In about five minutes, everyone in our school heard about it."  
  
Jason shrugged. He had been the subject of gossip before and it never bothered him. "Well. Whatever. It doesn't matter, knowing this school, they'll move onto something else soon enough."  
  
"Like you and Chloe," Shawn said, staring pointedly at Philip.   
  
"Or you and Belle," Philip shot back, gesturing towards the daisy.  
  
"There's nothing to talk about."  
  
"Oh? After years of watching you two flirt your asses off, deny, flirt, deny, flirt, only to end up together in your junior year of high school? There's nothing to talk about? Dude, please, Mandy and her crew dissect every move you two make."  
  
Shawn hoped he wasn't blushing. He was never one for mushy public love stuff but whenever Belle was around, he couldn't help it. She mentioned on the flight home that she was worried how Shawn would act with her back in Salem. Well, obviously, Belle had no need to be concerned...Shawn was practically attached to her hip.   
  
"Maybe just as much as they dissect every move you and Chloe make...or don't make." Jason hinted.  
  
"Phil, what is going on? Chloe told Belle you hardly speak to her anymore. You're practically mute in class and you never show up at dotCom."  
  
"Yeah, you're almost like one of those creepy hermit guys." Philip and Shawn gave Jason a look. "You know, that, like, live in those forests?"  
  
Philip sighed and turned to Shawn, deciding to pretend Jason didn't ever speak. "It's just...I know I should talk to Chloe, but it's tough, man."  
  
"Dude, what happened?" Shawn asked.  
  
Jason began tossing the football between his hands. "Yeah, what did Brady do to her?"  
  
Philip shook his head, not wanting to talk about it. "It...it doesn't matter. I love Chloe so freakin much--"  
  
"We know," Jason muttered underneath his breath.  
  
"But I've had enough of her thinking that she's the only possible person in a relationship that could get hurt. I just...I want to be with her so bad but I don't know if it'll be a healthy relationship."  
  
"And you won't know unless you talk to Chloe," Shawn pointed out.  
  
Before Philip could respond, Victor knocked on the door. "Philip, you and your friends will be late for school if you don't start to leave now," he called.  
  
Philip sighed and grabbed his car keys. "Let's go."  
  
  
Belle tugged the hem of her cheerleading skirt as she tried to listen to Chloe explain an opera to Mimi. The school had a rally later today, but she wasn't feeling very peppy. Ever since Heather slapped him in Florida, Brady had been acting even more like a grouch than usual. Life at home had been pretty tense with Brady being like a brat, so she spent most of her time the past week at one of the girls' or Shawn's. Belle smiled to herself as she thought of how sweet Shawn had been lately. Her thoughts were broken when a familiar hand waved in front of her face.  
  
"Hello?" Mimi called cheerily. "Do you actually plan on taking any books out of your locker, or are you just admiring your week-old lunch you left in there?"  
  
Belle blushed when she realized she was staring into her open locker, and closed it abruptly. "Sorry, I was just thinking about the routine we're going to do today."  
  
"So, when is this rally?" Chloe asked...she wasn't looking forward to the pep assembly. They would be featuring the girls' and boys' basketball teams today, and she felt like she should cheer for Philip. But that would feel so normal...and things with him were definitely not normal lately.  
  
"After fifth period," Mimi answered, as she watched a cute senior boy walked by.  
  
"Mimi!" Belle giggled, swatting her friend on the arm. "Could you be any more obvious?"  
  
Mimi grinned mischievously. "Well, I'm just looking for someone to practice my newfound skills on," she said, only half-kidding.  
  
Chloe smiled back. "What about Jason?"  
  
Mimi rolled her eyes as they waited by the lockers for the first bell to ring. "Jason? Please. He's just my friend."  
  
"With benefits?" Belle teased, leaning against her locker.  
  
Mimi laughed. "No, he's just like a tutor for a really cool subject. But he's definitely not having any qualities of boyfriend-ness."  
  
"What do you mean?" Chloe asked.  
  
"Well, he's just some big dopey jock," she giggled. "Which is fine for a friend, because he's funny and nice and all. But...I need romance, sweetness...not someone who can burp the ABC's in 10.5 seconds," she said, naming Jason's greatest achievement.  
  
After the girls chatted a little about school, a daisy popped in front of Belle's face from over her shoulder. Belle laughed and spun around to face a grinning Shawn.   
  
"Another one?" she said, smiling as she took the flower.  
  
"But of course," he whispered, pulling her into a hug as she thanked him. "Definitely appreciating the outfit," he said with a devilish grin, nodding at her uniform.  
  
"You'll appreciate it even more at the rally," Mimi said, smiling. "The cheerleaders are doing their dance to Britney Spears." Chloe rolled her eyes at the mention of the bubblegum star and Shawn rose his eyebrows.  
  
"I'll be sure to grab a front row seat for that," he whispered in Belle's ear. The bell rang and Belle gave Shawn a smile. No matter how hard dealing with Brady was, Shawn always made all of it go away. The couple walked to Shawn's locker as he babbled on about the winning three-pointer he made at the last basketball game. Mimi and Chloe watched them walk away at the same time Jason and Philip approached the girls.   
  
Chloe was about to turn away when Philip grabbed her by the arm gently. "Chloe...it's time we talk." Chloe felt the butterflies in her stomach pound away and she tightly nodded. Mimi watched them walk away and she turned back to see Jason with a goofy grin on his face.  
  
"What's up with you?" she asked.  
  
And for some reason, at the sight of her smile, Jason was at a loss of words. What is going on with me? he thought to himself. No one ever had this effect over him. Jason drew in a breath and decided to cover his nervousness with his usual flirting. "Well, I just thought that we could sneak under the bleachers during the rally and you can show me some of your own kind of pep."  
  
Mimi rolled her eyes. "Oh, be still my heart."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Mimi repeated the action with her eyes at Jason's caveman-like grunt. "Jason, maybe it's time **I **give **you** a lesson."  
  
Jason grinned at the memory of Mimi unbuttoning his shirt with her mouth. "Oh, yeah?"  
  
"Yeah. It's called Learn How to Be Romantic."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Wow, I think we'll start off with 'mastering the English language'. Jason, you are the most unromantic man on planet Earth, next to Hugh Heffner, you know that? Tonight, it's my turn. I'm going to teach you how to be sweet and be like a knight in shining armor."  
  
"Tonight, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, just meet me at my house at...um, seven."  
  
"Romance lessons," Jason repeated, grinning to himself as he thought of Philip's statement earlier. _Well, maybe Mimi is just playing along because **she** likes **you**. _So she was going to pull this big romantic night and play it off as a lesson? Too bad she was playing his game...he knew she really just wanted to be with him, like he wanted to be with her. "Well, thanks, Meems. I could use this romance junk for my next girlfriend," Jason said, looking for a reaction.  
  
There was none. "No problem. You helped me out, and now I'll help you. What are friends for, right?" she asked happily, punching him lightly on the shoulder. Jason frowned. _The friend thing is just a cover...yeah, that's it_, he decided. Before Jason could respond, he heard a familiar voice yell out, "Bitch!"  
  
All of a sudden he saw Mimi get pulled back by the hair and be turned around. In a split second, there was a sound of a fist making contact with a face, and Mimi was on the floor, groaning. Jason stared down at Mimi in shock and looked up to see a pissed-off female face surrounded by tight jet-black curls.  
  
**Chapter 24**  
  
Philip pulled Chloe into a nearby janitor's closet as passing students giggled at the couple.  
  
"We need to talk," he said, pulling the door shut behind them.  
  
"Philip!" Chloe protested, yanking her arm out of Philip's grasp. "What are you doing? We're going to be late for first period," she said just as the late bell rang. She threw her hands in exasperation. "Terrific. We're late."  
  
Philip rolled his eyes. "Chloe, we'll live. I'll just tell the teacher we had to go drop off our yearbook money. He'll buy it, all right?" he said impatiently.  
  
Chloe nodded and sat down on a dusty cardboard box. Philip tried to hide his smile when her nose scrunched up as the dust flew up all around her. "Ew," she muttered. Chloe glanced up and thought she saw Philip looking at her the way he used to. But it was gone in a couple of seconds. "Philip, look. I'm really sorry, ok? I--"  
  
Philip held out his hands, signaling her to stop. "Chloe, it took a lot of guts for me to finally decide to have this talk--"  
  
"I thought we were going to have this talk once we got back in Salem."  
  
"We were but do you realize how hard this is for me, Chloe?" He took a deep breath and kneeled in front of her. "Every time I see you, I just want to grab you, hold you and pretend you never kissed Brady. But I can't, because you did. I want to be with you Chloe, but I can't help but think you're never going to trust me. I **do** know I can trust you. I thought it over a lot over the past two weeks, and I know that you are a wonderful, amazing person. You just made a big mistake, but your human and I'm willing to give you a second chance because I love you. But you haven't even given me a chance at all. The reason you kissed Brady, and you said so yourself, was because you didn't trust our love. That says a lot, Chloe. If you can't trust my love for you, or yours for me, why are you even wanting to be with me?"   
  
Chloe looked down at Philip with tears hotly stinging in her eyes. "Philip-" she choked out. "I--What do you want me to do?"  
  
"Answer me. Why do you want to be with me?"  
  
"Because I love you, Philip," Chloe said softly, knowing he'd shoot something back.  
  
"But you don't trust where that's going. If you think I'm eventually going to break your heart, what's the point? Am I just wasting your time?"   
  
"No! Philip, please. It's just...taking a lot of time...this is all new to me. But you are definitely not a waste of my time, and **we** aren't a waste of time. When I said I didn't trust our love, I didn't mean I never could. I just need to figure out what I'm feeling. It's scary to get bombarded by feelings you never even dreamed about before, Philip. But it's really happening, and I don't know the first thing to do. Normal girls...like Belle...they just know. It comes easily to them...what to do when they fall in love, I mean."   
  
"Falling in love isn't easy for anyone, Chloe."  
  
"OK! Fine. But I didn't think it would happen to me so young. I didn't think it would happen to me at all, actually. But here it is, full force, Philip! I mean, it just happened really fast and I wasn't sure if everything was going the way it was supposed to. But I know now...it is. Not because of any set 'love must be like this' rule, but because it feels right to me. And...hopefully to you. And I know you won't ever want to hurt me...I--I trust you." Philip looked up in surprise. So...maybe I wasn't ready for us when I kissed Brady. But I am now. If...if you'll have me back."   
  
Philip slowly walked towards Chloe with tears welling up in his eyes. "I never let you go," he whispered before pulling her into a kiss.  
  
  
"FIGHT!"   
  
A crowd gathered around the trio as Jan smirked and crossed her arms. "Fight? Please. It was more like me kicking her ASS down to the ground with one hit."  
  
Jason helped Mimi up, who was holding the side of her face. "You bitch," she muttered.  
  
Jan remained unphased...in fact, she seemed to get satisfaction out of the comment. "You want to name names, Meems? How about your a backstabbing, selfish, desperate, lowlife, ho-bag, worthless slut? You can throw bitch in there if you want," she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. The crowd gasped at her insults.  
  
Mimi jerked forward to rearrange that smug look on Jan's face, but Jason was holding her back. "Don't let her get to you," he said lowly, staring at Jan. "That's what she wants."  
  
"Well no one really gives a flying crap what I want anyway...obviously," Jan spat out. "I'd like to know what you're doing skanking around with him," she said, stepping closer to Mimi.  
  
"Giving him something you never could," Mimi growled as Jason's jaw dropped. Jan's puppy dog was suddenly breaking off her leash. Hopefully, Jan wouldn't break her neck.  
  
"What's that, honey? A lesson on what breast implants feel like?" Jan sneered, nodding to Mimi's chest.  
  
"All right, girls, that's enough, ok?" Jason pleaded. Normally, he wouldn't mind two girls going at it cat-fight-like...over him, no less. But not Mimi. He didn't want her to get hurt...especially by Jan.  
  
"No, Jason, it's not enough," Jan said. "What are you doing with this pathetic loser? Please tell me it's pity. Or else you've totally become the shit on the bottom of my shoe, Jase. Because you and her? That's the saddest and most disgusting thing I've ever saw in my life."  
  
"No, Jan. Don't forget what you see in the mirror each morning," Mimi shot back.  
  
Jan rolled her eyes and slowly strutted her way over to Jason, who had his arm around Mimi to support her. Jan put one arm around Jason's neck and pulled his ear near her mouth. She whispered, but loudly enough so Mimi could hear, also.  
  
"Come on, Jase. You can have me back...have some fun again. You don't need to give charity out to Salem's lower class."  
  
Mimi sighed to herself. She should have known her and Jason's friendship wouldn't last long back in Salem. She was about to walk to the restroom to see how her eye was looking after Jan's attack, but Jason's arm remained tight around her shoulders. Jason peeled Jan's arm off of him with disgust.  
  
"Your beneath me, Jan," Jason muttered.  
  
"I thought you liked it like that," Jan breathed, as she moved closer to him again.  
  
"I mean," he said tensely. "I deserve better than you. Your nothing but a whiny brat who has permanent PMS." Jan's mouth opened in surprise and Jason continued. "Maybe Mimi's not my girlfriend, but she's my friend. And if your going to talk to her like that, you've got to get through me first." Mimi looked up at Jason as his arm tightened even more around her protectively. She smiled to herself as she realized Jason really **was** a great friend.  
  
"I don't believe this," Jan fumed.  
  
"Believe it, bitch," Mimi said tightly.  
  
Jan exhaled in frustration. "Jason might say your just friends, but I know the truth. I know something's going on. And when I get proof you two are fooling around, you'll be sorry, Mimi."  
  
"I already know all your plans. I know how you work, Jan. If you try anything against me, I'll let the principal know all about your schemes back from day one."  
  
"Sorry, hon. If I go down, you'd be bringing your new best friend with me," Jan growled, pointing at Jason.  
  
Jason shrugged. "It would be worth it to see you go down, Jan."  
  
"You can't be serious."  
  
"You won't have to find out if you leave her alone," he shot back.  
  
Jan stared at Jason and Mimi in shock and then shook her head. "This isn't over," she muttered underneath her breath. Jan turned on her heel, and shoved a nearby student out of her way. "Move it, geek!" she shouted as she stormed down the hallway.  
  
"Ding dong, the bitch is gone." Mimi said.   
  
Jason looked down at her eye, which was beginning to swell. "Hey, um, are you all right?"  
  
Mimi watched Jan's retreat down the hall and remembered standing up to her just seconds before.  
  
"I've never felt better in my life."  
  
**Chapter 25  
  
**Shawn wrapped the towel around his waist after his shower and walked to his bedroom. He sighed, staring at the outfit he had put on the bed. _It's just a shirt,_ he chanted in his head. Shawn took a deep breath and grabbed the outfit, remembering it was all for his surprise. "Here goes nothing," he muttered.  
  
  
Belle stared at the invitation in her hand.   
  
"Hey, sis, what's that?" Brady said, as he worked his way to the fridge.  
  
"It's an invitation to a cheerleading banquet tonight."  
  
"Tonight? Why such short notice?"  
  
"I have no idea," Belle said, as she walked to the phone. She quickly dialed seven digits and waited patiently for the captain of the squad to answer.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Christina? It's me, Belle."  
  
"Oh, hey. What's up?"  
  
"Um...what's going on about this banquet?"  
  
"Banquet?" Christina repeated.  
  
"Yeah, I just got this invitation. It's for some award for our coach."  
  
Christina paused. "Oh! Oh, yeah! The banquet. Well, it's a surprise award for Coach Smith, since we did so well at conference last season."  
  
"Why such short notice?"  
  
Christina continued so Belle guessed she didn't hear her. "Oh, and, um, Smith took care of transportation, too. She's sending taxi's for everyone."  
  
"What?! Are you serious?"  
  
"Hells yeah. Unbelievable, right? I guess she's on some super-nice kick or something. Probably will last for five minutes, so we might as well take advantage of it."  
  
"Yeah, I guess so. Are you gonna go?"  
  
Christina cleared her throat. "Um...yeah."  
  
"All right, I guess I'll make an appearance, too," Belle sighed, staring at the invitation. It was on plain white paper and it was typed. Kind of dull for a banquet...Belle guessed the banquet itself would be boring since it would be held at the high school, according to the card. But she knew she should be there for Coach Smith.  
  
"Okay. Don't forget to dress all cute and stuff," Christina added. "Bye, girl!" Christina hung up the phone and smirked to herself.  
  
  
  
"So I'm really sorry that we can't go out tonight," Belle said as she adjusted her shoe. She was wearing a baby blue, sleeveless knee-length dress. Belle decided to do a simple French twist with a few curls hovering around her face.  
  
"Hey, it's all right," Shawn said, with disappointment evident in his voice. "I'll just see you tomorrow night."  
  
"Are you sure this is ok? I know you had something planned for us."  
  
"No, Belle, it's fine. We can just do it some other time. Call me when you get back, ok?"  
  
"Will do."  
  
"Love you. Have fun tonight," Shawn said with a sigh.  
  
"Thanks. Love you too." Belle hung up and looked out the window to see her taxi pull up. Just as she made her way to the door, the phone rang. Belle grabbed it as she put on her coat and took a deep breath when she heard the voice on the other line.   
  
"Yeah, he's here. Hold on a second, Heather."  
  
  
  
Belle yawned and drifted off in the back-seat of the cab. The driver told her he knew where the school was so she doubted he would mind. After a while, Belle didn't know how long, the cab jerked to a stop and she woke up. Disoriented, Belle tried to hand the driver money until he reminded her that Coach Smith had taken care of it. Belle yawned, nodded and stumbled out of the taxi.  
  
"Hey--" The taxi sped off before Belle could tell the driver that this definitely wasn't the school. It was a beach that she went to nearly everyday in the summer.  
  
Belle slapped her hand against her forehead when she realized she had forgotten her cell phone in another purse. Luckily, she remembered there was a payphone by the jet ski rental building and she started making her way down the beach to call her mom.  
  
"Freak. What the hell was he thinking dropping me off here?" Belle muttered as she stomped through the sand. She found the payphone on the side of the small building and her mouth dropped open in delighted shock. There was a daisy taped to the phone cord with a note.   
  
Shawn.  
  
Belle stared at the daisy and shook her head as she slowly realized what was going on. She couldn't believe Shawn went through all this--sending her the invitation, putting Christina and maybe the rest of the squad, just in case, up to lying about a banquet, hiring a taxi driver...Belle couldn't help laughing out loud with giddiness. She opened the note and on it was a simple sentence: "Call my cell phone."  
  
Belle grinned and starting dialing his number from the payphone. He picked up on the second ring.  
  
"Hey, beautiful."  
  
"Shawn--"  
  
"Gotcha." Belle could almost see his sexy grin over the phone.  
  
"Yeah, you sure did. I--I can't believe you did all this."  
  
"It's not over yet."  
  
"Where are you?" Belle said, looking around. She saw a small dot of a person from far away. The dot waved its dot-hand over its dot-head and starting jumping up and down.  
  
"See me?"  
  
Belle giggled. "Yeah, I see you."  
  
"Well, come and get me, then."   
  
And with that, Shawn hung up the phone. Belle shook her head with a silly grin plastered on her face. She grabbed the daisy and began running towards Shawn. When she got nearer, she saw a blanket and a few candles. _God, he really went all out_, Belle thought to herself. She slowed down her pace and finally got near enough to see the whole picture.  
  
Shawn was standing on the center of a large blanket which was surrounded by a circle of candles. A couple of them were blown out by the sea breeze. There was a picnic basket laying near Shawn's feet and two plates were lying ontop of it. There was a small stereo near the basket. Shawn himself was holding a dozen daisies in one hand and...Belle's breath caught in her throat. He was wearing gray pants and a tight forest-green turtleneck that showed off every muscle possible. To complete the package, Shawn had the most adorable nervous smile on his face.  
  
Belle thought she was going to faint.  
  
"Shawn," she whispered as tears welled up in her eyes.  
  
"Do--Are you surprised?" Shawn asked hopefully, tugging the neck of his shirt as he gulped.  
  
"Yes...of course I am! This...this is amazing," Belle said, staring into Shawn's eyes. "You are amazing."  
  
Shawn ducked his head in embarrassment and held out the bouquet. "Th--these are for you," he said, almost inaudibly.  
  
Belle slowly approached him and gently took the daises out of his hand. "Thank you." She found his lips with hers, and Shawn's nervousness quickly disappeared.  
  
"Why...why did you do all of this for me?" Belle asked.  
  
"Well, we had nothing else to do this weekend," Shawn teased. Belle swatted him on the arm and Shawn grabbed her hand. "I love you, Belle. And...and I know you think I'm this big tough guy who said I'd never fall in love."  
  
"You did say that," Belle pointed out, smiling.  
  
"Well, now I'm proving myself wrong. And I wanted to prove to you that I'm just not some leather jacket-wearing macho guy," Shawn stammered.  
  
"You don't need to prove that to me," Belle said, shaking her head. "I've known that all along."  
  
Shawn grinned and kissed Belle lightly. "In honor of our first kiss...will you dance with me, Isabella Black?"  
  
Belle smiled back and looked around. The beach, the moonlight...it was exactly like their first kiss back on spring break. "Hm...well, I guess," Belle teased.   
  
Shawn turned on the stereo, which began to play _Wonderful Tonight_ and took Belle's hand in his.  
  
"I promise you...this will be a night you won't forget," he whispered.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	11. Parts 26, 27 and 28

**Chapter 26**  
Philip ran his hands through his hair and threw down his pencil in frustration.  "I hate this math crap!" he yelled.  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes and shoved the pencil back in Philip's hand.  "You know how to do it, Philip.  You just don't want to."  
  
"Damn right I don't want to.  I can't believe I'm stuck doing math homework on a Friday night."  
  
"As opposed to getting drunk at one of those dumb jock parties?"  Chloe asked with a smirk.  
  
"They're not dumb jock parties," Philip countered.  Chloe raised her eyebrows at him and he realized it wasn't exactly The Greatest Comeback of All Time.  Chloe laughed when Philip ducked his head and she affectionally messed up his hair with her hand.  It felt so natural and perfect to be with him like this again.  
  
Philip grinned back at her and Chloe thought she was going to melt away in a puddle of goo...his dimples were like superpowers.  Philip brought his face near hers.  "I can think of other fun stuff we can do," he growled lowly.  
  
Chloe giggled nervously.  "In your bedroom?  What if your dad--"  
  
"Who cares?" Philip joked, tackling Chloe to the floor as she squealed.  
  
"Philip!  God, this isn't the football field here."  But Philip wasn't listening because he was gently kissing her neck.  Chloe responded by pulling Philip's face to hers so she could reach his lips.  When their kisses deepened, Chloe felt the obligatory butterflies in her stomach start up.  She always got so nervous being so intimate with Philip, no matter how much he loved her.  It had nothing to do with him...Chloe just felt weird sharing so much of her body with another person.  But Philip's hands, Philip's mouth...it seemed to make her thoughts turn to mush every time they kissed.    
  
One of Chloe's hands began to rub the side of Philip's neck as another traced a line down his back.  Philip let his hands find the buttons to Chloe's shirt and she didn't stop him from unbuttoning them.  She was too busy with the belt of his pants, which surprised Philip.  Chloe never moved this fast before.  In fact, she seemed almost frantic.  Her kisses grew hungry and rough as she began working Philip's zipper.  Philip could have let himself get lost in this moment, because it definitely did not suck, but he could sense something was wrong.  When he pulled away from Chloe's lips, he realized he was right.  
  
Chloe's eyes were welled up with tears.   
  
"Chloe?" Philip whispered, stroking her face with one finger.  "What's wrong?"  
  
"Philip...please.  Just...don't talk, okay?  Just kiss me."  
  
"Chloe.  What's wrong?" Philip repeated, in a tone that let her know that he wasn't going to drop it.  
  
Chloe sighed and sat up, buttoning her shirt back up.  Philip watched with interest at the disappointed look on her face...but for some reason, it seemed like Chloe was disappointed in herself.  
  
  
"Huhlo?" Brady mumbled through a mouth full of food.  
  
"Hiya."  
  
Brady nearly choked on his sandwich. "Heather?"  
  
"Miss me, Brady?"  
  
"Why are you calling here? I thought you said you'd wait for me to call. What was that cute lil' comment? Oh, yeah, when I become a man."  
  
"Well, I decided to check up on that process," Heather shot back.  
  
"That's great. Now why did you really call?"  
  
"I just wanted to see how you were, Brady," Heather said more gently.  
  
"Well, I think I have a permanent hand-print on the side of my face," Brady replied bitterly.  
  
"Oh, spare me."  
  
"You know, maybe you and Marlena could go out for tea, share your most efficient slapping techniques."  
  
"Or share reasons of why you're such a bastard," Heather said, not missing a beat.  
  
"Trust me, Marlena will be sure to have plenty of those," Brady said, raising his voice.  
  
"Okay, you're not impressing me or anything here. I've been hearing the same old lines from you for a while now. 'Marlena hates me, I hate her, wah wah'," Heather repeated in a whiny tone.   
  
"Oh, now I get it. You basically called to insult me," Brady challenged.   
  
"No! God! Why do you always think the world is against you?"  
  
"Because it is," Brady muttered.  
  
Heather grew an edge to her tone. "No, your against the world." There was silence on the line so she continued. "You bring all this crap on yourself, Brady."  
  
"Don't even say that, Heather," Brady shouted.  
  
"I did say that," she shot back. Heather paused and sighed. "Listen, this is going nowhere."  
  
"You're telling me."  
  
"I didn't call to argue, Brady," Heather said shakily.  
  
"Really? You could have fooled me," Brady replied tensely.  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence and Brady was about to continue when a soft voice came from the line. "I miss you, Brady."  
  
Brady swallowed. It would have been so easy to tell her the truth--that he missed her, too. But she was part of his old life...he was a new Brady and Heather brought back too many memories. And he didn't need any distractions in getting revenge on Marlena.  
  
"No, you miss the old Brady. You're still getting the two confused. And I think it's time that you realize that you don't get to me anymore," Brady bit out and instantly regretted saying it. There was a long pause and then a click and a dial tone.   
  
Brady put his hand to his forehead...what was wrong with him? Heather was the best thing that ever happened to him and he was throwing it all away. For what? For some kicks at a stepmother's expense? But Brady had enough of being nice and getting nothing in return. He clenched his jaw and threw the phone against the wall in frustration. Brady shook his head fiercely...Heather was in the past now. He wasn't going to let anyone in again, only to get hurt once more. Brady sighed and turned on the radio and Vertical Horizon's "Gray Sky Morning" began to play. He plopped down on his bed and closed his eyes and he listened to the lyrics. Brady smiled sadly when he realized the song might as well have been called, "Wake the Hell Up, Brady Black."  
  
_So you sailed away into a gray sky morning  
Now I'm here to stay...love can be so boring  
Nothing's quite the same now...I just say your name now  
  
But it's not so bad  
You're only the best I ever had  
You don't want me back  
You're just the best I ever had  
  
So you stole my world...now I'm just a phony  
Remembering the girl leaves me down and lonely  
Send it in a letter, make yourself feel better  
  
But it's not so bad  
You're only the best I ever had  
You don't need me back  
You're just the best I ever had  
  
And it may take some time to patch me up inside  
But I can't take it so I run anyway and hide  
And I may find in time that you were always right  
  
So you've sailed away into a gray sky morning  
Now I'm here to stay...love can be so boring  
What was it you wanted?  
Could it be I'm haunted?  
  
But it's not so bad  
You're only the best I ever had  
I don't want you back  
You're just the best I ever had_     
  
**Chapter 27  
**Jason knocked on Mimi's front door and straightened out his shirt.  He wanted to look presentable but he got caught up in a game of basketball before going over to Mimi's.  Jason hoped that she wouldn't notice he was a little late.   
  
The door flew open.  "Lesson One:  Don't be an hour late," Mimi demanded.  
  
Jason could only respond with a frozen grin.  Mimi looked amazing...she was wearing a light pink tank top with a knee-length gray skirt and it definitely flattered her in all the right places.  Jason looked down at his sweaty t-shirt and blue jeans with grass stains on them.  Now he hoped that she wouldn't notice he was a little underdressed.  
  
Mimi crossed her arms.  "Whatever kind of look you were going for, you missed.  Lesson Two:  Learn how to dress for a date."  
  
Jason rolled his eyes and held up his hands in defense.  "Okay, Date Nazi."  
  
"So far, you've got a lot to learn, Welles.  And this is only the beginning.  How the hell do you expect to keep a girlfriend if you don't even know the basics of being a good date?"  
  
"Hey, I've had plenty of girlfriends."  
  
"Wrong.  You've just had plenty of action...then you had Jan.  Since she isn't human, I don't really count any of that."  
  
Jason sighed.  This was going to be a long night.  Oh, hell, who was he kidding?  He's never been so excited over a girl before...Jason just knew that Mimi would be putty in his hands by the end of the night.  _Romance lesson, my ass_, he thought.  _Just a cute little ploy to get me to notice her.  I'll play along before I tell her I've been noticing her for a while now.  
  
_"Hell-o?  Jason?"  Mimi's hand waved in front of his face.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I was asking where you plan on taking me."  
  
"I have to take you somewhere?" Jason asked, confused.  
  
Mimi leaned against her doorway in exasperation.  "Do you think a date is just sitting on a couch, eating and watching basketball?"  Jason grinned...that's exactly what he had planned for their special night.  He knew Mimi was special.    
  
Mimi let her mouth open a little.  "Oh, my god, Jason, you have to be kidding me.  You're gonna need more work than I thought."    
  
"What's wrong with watching basketball?"  
  
"On a date?  That's more like what **you** like to do and there just so happens to be a girl sitting next to you.  Probably a very pissed off girl."  
  
Jason pointed to Mimi in defense.  "Hey, lots of girls like to watch basketball, all right?"  
  
Mimi threw up her hands.  "I know that, you nerd.  But this is a romance lesson, remember?  Flowers, candy, candles...and the Knicks?  It doesn't exactly fit, Jase."  
  
Jason flashed a grin and also leaned against the doorway.  "Fine, Meems.  Teach away."  
  
"OK.  Let's do something easy so that you don't hurt yourself.  How about...going out to dinner?"  
  
Jason nodded thoughtfully.  "Sounds good to me.  I'm in the mood for some Taco Bell nachos right now."  Mimi stared blankly at him.  "What?"  
  
"Please, please, tell me this is just another dumb joke of yours."  
  
"Hey!  My jokes aren't dumb," Jason said defensively.  
  
Mimi's hand flew up to smack her own forehead.  She had a feeling this wasn't going to be easy.  
  
  
Jason's car pulled up to the Olive Garden and he quickly turned off the ignition.  His head was spinning with suggestions for his "next girlfriend".  Flowers are pretty.  Balloons are nice, but only on special occasions.  Don't overdo it.  Don't get anything expensive for her until after a certain amount of months.  Hold her hand.  Hug her.  Say sweet things.  Jason shook his head...he was starting to wonder if Mimi had a book: 101 Ways to Be The Perfect Boyfriend.  He sighed as his ego began to deflate.  Jason was never the romantic type, but he was trying so hard.  He hoped Mimi saw that in him and realized he was perfect for her.  
  
Jason hopped out of the car and started walking towards the door of the restaurant.  "I'm glad we decided on this, I love Italian," Jason started.  He turned to hear Mimi's response only to see that Mimi wasn't behind him.  She was still sitting in the car.  Jason shook his head and jogged over to the passenger side.  "Mimi!  What the hell are you doing?"  
  
Mimi glared at him from the window.  
  
"Get out of the car!  I'm hungry!"  he whined.  
  
Mimi dramatically rolled her eyes and pointed to the door handle.  Jason nodded.  "Yes, Meems, that is how you open the door!"  Mimi clenched her jaw and swung the door open, narrowly missing Jason's stomach.  "Woah, watch it, killer!"  
  
Mimi shot him an evil look.  "Lesson Nineteen:  Open doors for girls."  
  
"What?  This isn't the fifties.  You have hands."  
  
"Jason...you're hopeless."  
  
  
The waiter showed Jason and Mimi to their table.  Before Mimi even decided which chair to take, Jason hurried over to one and pulled it out.  He gestured to the chair and winked at Mimi, who responded with a proud smile.  
  
"Wow, Jason, you're learning," she said as she took the seat.  
  
"See?  I'm not hopeless, after all."  Jason said, flashing her a charming grin.  
  
"No, there's hope for you yet, Welles," Mimi responded with a teasing smile.  Jason swallowed.  He was on a date with Mimi Lockhart.  The realization hit him and he instantly felt butterflies in his stomach.  Then his palms actually started getting sweaty.  Jason's palms never sweated over a girl before.  He had it bad.  He watched as Mimi played with her spoon, twirling it between her fingers.  _Red alert,_ he thought.  _She's bored.  Say something, stupid.  Say something!  
  
_"Your chest looks really good in that shirt," Jason blurted out.  He immediately closed his eyes.  _Please, please, God...please don't let that have been out loud.  
  
_Mimi looked up in surprise.  "What did you just say?"  
  
_Dammit.  
  
_"Uh...I just can't wait for some...good dessert," Jason said hopefully, praying that it sounded close enough to his original, very not-suave, comment.  
  
"Oh."  Mimi laughed nervously.  "Sorry, I could have sworn you said something else."  
  
Jason laughed loudly in response, hoping to cover up his nervousness.  Mimi gave him a strange look and he immediately shut up.  There was an uncomfortable silence until an unfamiliar voice broke through.  
  
"Hi, my name is Shalini and I'll be your waitress for tonight.  Do you two need a few more minutes or are you ready to order?"  
  
Mimi looked over at Jason, who shrugged.  "Um, no, we're ready."  
  
"Okay.  And what would you like?" the waitress asked, turning to Mimi.  
  
Mimi glanced over her menu.  "Um...how about the...angelhair pasta?"  She smiled up at the waitress, who nodded and wrote the order down.  She took the menu from Mimi and turned to Jason, who was staring at his own menu.  
  
"Thirteen dollars to put hair in your noodles?!"  He shouted.    
  
Mimi immediately turned red.  "Jason!"  The waitress tried to hold back rolling her eyes...there was always a couple where the guy never wanted to dish out too many bucks.  "It's a very good pasta dish," Mimi muttered to him.  
  
"Can't you just get a salad or something?" Jason continued, pointing at the menu.  "Mmm...lettuce," he said hopefully, dramatically rubbing his stomach.  
  
"I...want...angelhair...pasta," Mimi said through clenched teeth.  The waitress crossed her arms and waited for the two to duke it out.  
  
Jason swallowed when Mimi's eyes flashed.  "I--I will also have a plate--of the angelhair...thing," he struggled to get out.  The waitress nodded tightly and snatched the menu out of his hand.  Jason sighed..._its the only way, man.  You need to impress her tonight, so suck it up.  Remember, Lesson Fifteen was buy a nice dinner once in a while for the girl.  
  
_Mimi looked up at Jason.  "I didn't expect you to give in so quickly."  
  
Jason gripped his fork, trying to keep his nerves about him.  _This is it.  Now or never...okay, speaking might help.  Just...say it.  Speak, dammit!_  
  
"Well, um, angelhair pasta is perfect for...an angel like you."  Jason immediately hung his head.  God, where the hell did that cheese come from?  
  
"W--what?"  Mimi asked, surprised.  
  
"I'm sorry...that--that was really dumb," he stammered, putting his hand to his forehead.  
  
Mimi stared at the guy in front of her in shock.  Was this really Jason Welles sitting there?  And what was going on with him?  
  
"Jason...are you all right?"  
  
Jason took a deep breath.  "Mimi...I have...I have something I need to ask you."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Jason looked up at her and decided to get it out all in one breath.  It's the only way.    
  
"Mimi, I...I really--"  
  
"Hey, you two!"    
  
Jason bit his tongue.  He must have really done something horrible if God insisted on punishing him like this.  
  
"Heather!"  Mimi said happily, waving the girl over to the table.  Heather walked over, dragging another boy by the hand.  Both Jason and Mimi were shocked to see that the guy wasn't Brady.  
  
"Mimi, Jason, this is Ethan.  Ethan, this is Mimi and Jason, friends of mine," Heather said, grinning.    
  
"Hey, guys," Ethan said, flashing a heart-stopping smile.  He was wearing khaki pants with a sweater vest pulled over a crisp white shirt.  Also, no one could miss the super-shiny loafers on his feet.  "You seem to have a beautiful date here, Jason," Ethan said smoothly, staring at Mimi.  He took Mimi's hand and kissed it lightly.  "Pleased to meet you," he whispered, winking.  
  
Mimi just gaped at the beautiful dark-haired boy.  "Uh-huh," she drew out, mesmerized.  Jason glared at Ethan and his dumb pretty-boy preppy outfit.  
  
"Yes, I do have a beautiful date here.  Why don't you just look through some more J. Crew catalogs so we can get back to it?"  
  
Before Ethan could respond, Mimi spoke up.  "Jason!"  She kicked him underneath the table.  "He's just kidding, Ethan.  We're not here on a date.  Jason's just my friend."  
  
Jason continued to shoot Ethan dirty looks.  "Good to know," Ethan murmured towards Mimi, who blushed.  
    
Before Jason could make another smart comment, Heather giggled.  "Um, well, anyway!  Ethan is an ex-boyfriend of mine.  We met after I broke up with Brady," she said casually.  A little too casually, Mimi noticed.  She also noticed that Ethan shifted his feet uncomfortably at the mention of Brady's name.  "But me and Ethan are just friends now," Heather continued, smiling at the boy beside her.  Heather looked over her shoulder.  "Oh, I better get back waiting at the hostess stand," she said.  
  
"I'll catch up with you, Heath," Ethan said, never taking his eyes off Mimi.  
  
Heather smiled at the obvious attraction between the two.  It didn't bother her since she didn't have any feelings for him anymore.  She never really had any feelings for Ethan, actually.  Unfortunately, their relationship was very short when both realized she was just using him to get over Brady.  Luckily, Ethan wasn't upset about it at all since he knew it wasn't intentional.  Heather shook her head as she walked to the hostess stand.  Brady.  What does she still see in him?  She thinks about him everynight and he obviously couldn't care less about her.  Heather sighed as she tried to erase him from her mind.  
  
At the table, Jason was digging his fork into the tablecloth.  "So, Ethan, do you play any sports?"  
  
"Um, actually, no, I don't."  
  
Jason grinned.  "Oh, well, I guess that figures.  Pretty boys are never known to do any damage on the courts or the fields."  
  
"Well, Jason, I never had time for sports," Ethan shot back.  
  
Jason raised his eyebrows as Mimi desperately tried to send him the message to shut up with her eyes.  "What, too busy shopping?"  
  
"No, actually, I've been too busy studying to become a lawyer," Ethan said calmly.  Mimi tilted her head to the side in interest as Jason grimaced.    
  
"A lawyer?  That's so cool," Mimi said, hoping she wasn't gushing.    
  
Jason rolled his eyes.  "Like, lawyers, are just, like, so this season," he mimicked under his breath.  
  
Ethan brushed Mimi's hand with his own and Jason instantly put his protective face on.  "So, Mimi, I really would like to see you some time."    
  
"Yeah, right," Jason muttered under his breath, knowing Mimi wouldn't fall for this guy's act.  
  
"I'd love that," Mimi breathed.  
  
**Chapter 28  
**Chloe grabbed Philip's face and kissed him fiercely.  Philip never thought he'd do it, but he pushed Chloe off of him.  
  
"Chloe, we're not going to do this while you're crying."  She looked down and took a shaky breath.  "Please, tell me what's wrong."    
  
She leaned in close to him again.  "Let's--let's just get this over with, okay?"  
  
Philip widened his eyes and leaned back.  "'Get this over with?'  You make sex sound like a trip to the dentist."  
  
Chloe swung her legs underneath her and tried not to let her tears fall.  Everything was perfect between her and Philip, in emotional terms.  But physically, it was a different story.  "Philip, I think it's time we--we...I mean, that we..."  
  
"Chloe, maybe it's not time to have sex if you can't even say it," Philip said pointblank.  
  
"I'm ready, Philip," Chloe pleaded.  Her eyes were full of desperation.  Philip bit his lip and stared down at the floor.  He couldn't believe he was turning down a beautiful girl who was practically begging for sex.  But it just wasn't right.    
  
"I--" Philip struggled to get the words out when Chloe absently licked her lip.  Temptation was a killer.  "I don't think you're ready," he said slowly.  Chloe wiped the tears that refused to stop falling.  Philip smiled sadly and pulled Chloe near him.  He leaned against his bed and Chloe sat with her back to him between his legs.  Chloe leaned her head on his shoulder as Philip wrapped his arms around her waist.  "Chloe, please, tell me what's going on."    
  
"I...I want to be normal," Chloe said softly.  "For you, I mean."  
  
She felt Philip tense up.  "Chloe, that's not like you.  You're not the type to want to change for anybody.  Besides, I don't want you to change.  You're everything I want."  
  
"I don't mean my personality.  I mean...Philip, you've had...had girlfriends before who were...ready for...this."  
  
"So?  What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
Chloe fidgeted.  "It has to do with **everything**!  Sex is so important to everyone now.  And I bet it's important to you.  Philip, you deserve to be in a normal relationship with a normal girl."  
  
Philip spun Chloe around to face him.  "Normal?  Chloe, what are you talking about?  I mean, we survived chicken blood, a bet, my singing voice," Chloe let out a laugh and Philip continued, encouraged.  "Jan Spears, your mom, Brady freakin' Black...now, I don't know any 'normal' couple who's been through all that and lived to tell about it.  Hell, I don't know any 'normal' couple who's been through all that, period.  But we went through so much together and we've stuck it out.  So I think you and me, babe, we have a one-up on all those so-called 'normal' couples."  
  
Chloe laughed again and wiped her nose with her sleeve.  "I'm just so dignified tonight, aren't I?" she joked, pointing to her shirt.  
  
Philip grinned.  "Hey, welcome to my world.  Soon, you'll be crushing cans against your forehead."  
  
Chloe giggled shakily and ducked her head.  "So...so you're not disappointed that your girlfriend isn't ready yet?"  
  
Philip smiled reassuringly.  "No.  I never regretted that you're my girl."  
  
Thoughts of her kissing Brady and her telling Philip flashed through Chloe's mind.  She decided not to point that out, since he already forgave her.  That's in the past now, she reminded herself.  Chloe had been struggling to keep things in the past for a while--her mom giving her up, for one.  But now that she was with Philip, he seemed to unknowingly be able to help her gradually get over that--among other problems she had to deal with.  
  
Philip continued.  "Sure, a booty call **would** be nice," he joked as Chloe swatted his shoulder.  Philip smiled and then grew serious.  "But, Chloe, when you're ready, that's when I'm ready."  
  
"What?"  
  
"If you're not ready, you're gonna remember your first time as a horrible experience, or a big mistake.  And I don't want that for you.  I want you to be completely sure about it, whenever the time comes.  And I'm willing to wait."  
  
Chloe shook her head.  "I can't believe I'm hearing this from a sixteen-year-old heterosexual guy," she teased.  
  
"Well, believe it," Philip replied.  Chloe nodded seriously.  "I do.  And thank you for understanding," she said, grabbing his hand with a wide smile.  "So, do you want me to hold you over while you wait?"  
  
Philip's eyebrows rose.  "What do you have in mind?"  
  
Chloe crawled over to where they were originally sitting and grabbed a textbook.  "Finishing this math homework."  Philip rolled his eyes and scooted next to Chloe, opening his notebook.  Chloe watched as he intently worked on a problem, muttering about the annoyance of matrices.  Even though Chloe felt relieved about getting the conversation out of the way, she knew she still had to think a lot of things through.  
  
  
The next day, Belle bounded down the stairs with a goofy grin on her face.  Brady looked up from his newspaper and put down his orange juice.  "Hey, kid."  Belle flew into her brother's arms, nearly knocking him over.  "Good morning, Brady!" she chirped.  
  
"Well, I know you're hyper, but this is an all-time high, Tinkerbelle," Brady laughed, picking her up by the waist as she screamed.  Brady spun her around in circles.  "So, what was so great about that cheerleading banquet that put you in a permanent sugar kick?"  
  
"Oh!  No, I was with Shawn."  Brady dropped Belle onto the couch in one simple motion.  "Ow!  Brady!"  
  
Brady sat down next to his sister.  "Sorry, Belle.  You just surprised me there."  
  
"Sorry.  I was surprised myself," Belle said happily, dropping her head on to Brady's lap.  "Shawn set the whole thing up.  We ended up at the beach."  
  
Brady clenched his jaw.  "Alone at the beach.  With Shawn."  
  
Belle rolled her eyes at Brady's reaction.  "Nothing happened."  
  
"Tink.  You were alone with a high school guy who's been in love with you for God knows how long and nothing happened?" Brady demanded.  Belle ignored him and played with a ring on her right hand absently.  "What's that, Belle?"  
  
Belle grinned up at her brother.  "Well...it's what happened."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Shawn gave me a claddagh ring last night," Belle said, raising up her hand so Brady could see it better.  "He was so cute and nervous about giving it to me..."  
  
Brady laughed.  "Seems Prince Charming is breaking out all the stops for you."  
  
Belle smiled at her ring.  "Brady...I really love him.  And he feels the same!  I mean, I thank God every night for this.  It finally happened," she gushed at rapid speed.  
  
Brady tensed.  "Belle...and don't take this the wrong way or anything...but you're both only juniors in high school."  
  
Belle sat up so she could face him.  "Yeah, I know that.  So what?"  
  
"So...you don't know what's going to happen.  A lot can change in your senior year, or when you go off to college..."  
  
"But--"  
  
"I'm just pointing out reality, Belle."  
  
"God, Brady, can't you just be happy for me?!  I realize that there's a chance that Shawn and I won't be together in the future.  But right now, everything is going the right way with us.  Finally.  Can't you just accept that without being such a grouch?"  
  
"I just think all relationships eventually turn to crap.  Just look at--"  
  
"Just because Heather's mad at you doesn't mean Shawn and I are going to break up!" Belle blurted out.  
  
Brady immediately shut his mouth.  He should have known Belle would have figured out why he was being pessimistic about her and Shawn's relationship.  But the more he denied missing Heather, the easier it would be to get over her.  
  
"I couldn't care less about Heather," he said as a phone rang upstairs.  
  
"That's my phone line," Belle said, getting up.  "And, you know, it's good that you said that.  According to an interesting conversation with Mimi this morning, Heather's been very busy."  
  
"Busy being a bitch?" Brady muttered as Belle approached the stairs.  
  
"No.  Busy being with an Ethan-something," Belle said carefully.  
  
"Ethan?!  Ethan-Ex-Boyfriend-Ethan?!"  Brady thundered.  
  
"He's just visiting her, Brady!  Besides, he asked Mimi out," she said, glancing upstairs.  Luckily, the caller was persistent, as the phone kept ringing.  She started up the stairs.  
  
Brady crossed his arms.  "So Heather was out with Gap Boy."  
  
Belle rolled her eyes as she hurried up the last of the steps.  "I thought you couldn't care less, Brady!"  
  
Brady stood in the room alone, fuming.  Sure, Gap Boy asked Mimi out.  But he was with Heather.  Probably staying at her apartment.  Probably going out to eat with her.  Just...being with her...when Brady couldn't.  A knock interrupted his thoughts.  Brady sighed and threw open the door to see a pretty familiar-looking face.  
  
"Hi!" the girl said, smiling.  
  
"Hey," he greeted.  "Your a friend of Belle's, right?" Brady asked, leaning against the doorway.  
  
"Right," she nodded.  "We're both on cheerleading.  I'm Christina."  
  
Brady nodded, remembering that she was the captain of the squad.  Belle forced him to a lot of the games, and this Christina girl definitely was a pro with those cool flip things.  
  
Christina continued.  "Belle forgot her uniform in the locker room," she said, holding up the gym bag.  
  
It was a gym bag that Heather gave to Belle when she made cheerleading.  Belle's words about Gap Boy and Heather pounded into his head until an idea slowly formed.  
  
"I'll give it to her," Brady said, flashing a charming grin.  Brady went to grab the bag and let his hand linger over Christina's.  She rose her eyebrows skeptically in response.  Belle had told her stories about Brady's many attempts to hit on girls, only to see if they'd flirt back.  
  
"So, Christina.  What have you got planned for tonight?"  
  
Christina smiled.  _Ah, what the hell.  He's gorgeous...just play along,_ she thought.  "Nothing too exciting," she replied.  
  
Brady leaned close to her ear.  "Well, I'd like to change that, then," he said lowly.  
  
If Heather wanted to play this game, Brady was going to win.  
  
  



	12. Parts 29, 30 and 31

**Chapter 29  
**The silence in the public library was disturbing.  Belle wished she was shopping for a nice new skirt instead of researching on a Saturday night.  But she knew if she didn't finish the big History project soon, she'd be screwing herself over.  Belle looked up when a hard thump was heard a few feet away.  She saw a few books on the floor and a sheepish Shawn holding an encyclopedia.  Belle tried to stifle her laughter as Shawn clumsily replaced the books.  She sighed happily...Brady didn't know what he was talking about.  Everything was perfect with Shawn right now.  And she knew they'd both work to keep that up.  
  
"Hey, Belle."  
  
Belle looked to her left to see a classmate had joined her at her table.  He sat a couple of rows away in her History class, but she never talked to him before.  
  
"Hi," she responded with a kind smile.  
  
"Um...I'm Sam.  From History.  I mean, not Sam from the past.  Sam from your History class."  The boy looked down in shame.  "Oh, God, I sound like a dork."_  
  
_Belle couldn't help but giggle.  "No, you don't.  I'm Belle Black."  
  
"I know," Sam responded with a serious face.  Belle felt chills go down her back but tried to shake them off.  He was just a nice guy making conversation.  However, she still didn't know how to respond to that.  
  
"So..." Belle said.  _Yeah, great response, Belle,_ she thought, shaking her head.  
  
"I can't believe junior year is almost over," Sam said, looking over at Belle nervously.  
  
"I know!  It's insane.  Next year...I mean, seniors!  Prom, Graduation...it's totally unbelievable."  
  
"I...I hope we have a class together next year," Sam said after a pause.  Belle looked over in surprise.  This kid never talked to her before and now he wants a class with her?    
  
"Um...yeah, that'd be nice."  
  
Suddenly, Shawn came over with an armload of books and Sam's face immediately darkened.  Belle didn't notice because she was too busy giggling over Shawn's funny faces he was making at her on his way.  
  
"Hey, babe.  Got some books for you."  
  
"For **us,**" Belle corrected.  "You are not just going to write your name on this project when all you did was stroll around the library."  
  
Shawn plopped down in the seat across from her.  "Sounds good to me," he joked.  
  
Belle chucked a pen at Shawn's head, which he easily ducked.  The pen hit a boy's head at another table and he turned around.  Belle immediately put on an innocent face, looking down at her book, but she knew she was red with embarrassment.    
  
"Good aim, Perfect Girl," Shawn said, grinning.  Belle rolled her eyes and grabbed one of the new books from the pile.  Shawn noticed the boy sitting next to his girlfriend.  That weird kid from History.  "Hey, Sam," Shawn nodded.  
  
"Hi.  Um...excuse me, I have to get home." Sam muttered, abruptly leaving the table.  
  
"That kid is so strange," Shawn whispered to Belle.  He was immediately rewarded with a swift kick to the leg.  "Ouch!  Geez, someone's abusive today."  
  
"He's a nice guy, Shawn.  He's just a little shy."  
  
"I don't know.  I guess I just get a weird feeling from him."  
  
"Are you sure that weird feeling isn't from those three hamburgers you just scarfed down before coming here?" Belle said, not looking up from her textbook.  Suddenly, the textbook slammed shut, with Shawn's hand on top of the cover.  "Shawn!" Belle protested.  
  
"I say we get outta here and do some fun stuff," Shawn said.  
  
"Oh, yeah?  Fun stuff?  What's fun stuff?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know.  Movies, driving around, sex..."  
  
"Shawn!" Belle scolded in an embarrassed whisper.  She felt a blush creep over her face.  
  
Shawn laughed and took Belle's hand.  "I'm just kidding, sweetie.  We'll just do this project on, uh, President Toyota."  
  
Belle laughed.  "Ford."  
  
"Same difference."  
  
"You're a little off your game today, Brady.  President Toyota?"  
  
Shawn leaned over the table.  "Well, I didn't have a lot of sleep last night.  When I got home from the beach, all I could think about was you."  Belle blushed again and looked down.  Shawn grinned and decided to lighten her up.  "And how my girlfriend is Belle Black by day, Mickey Mouse by night." Shawn joked, pointing to the two buns decorating Belle's head.  
  
Belle threw her hands up in the air.  "I give up!  Even when I'm dating you, the hair jokes never cease."  
  
"Oh, come on, Belle.  You know you were missing them."  
  
"Oh, yeah, Shawn," Belle said sarcastically with a smile.  "Almost as much as I miss you shoving sand in my mouth from pre-school."  
  
"Hey, that can be arranged if you want," Shawn replied.  Belle laughed and slid a book in Shawn's direction.  
  
"All right, all right, enough stalling.  Crack open a book already."  Shawn made a whining noise and Belle opened the book for him.  "Come on, Brady.  Reading isn't that bad, I promise."  Shawn sighed and took a piece of paper from his notebook.  "I'm gonna go get another biography on Ford.  Be right back," Belle chirped.  Shawn nodded as he took down notes of Ford's pardon for Nixon.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Sam left a couple of library books behind.  Shawn took the books and was about to put them back when he noticed Sam also left his notebook behind.  As Shawn carried the notebook back to the table, something slipped out from the middle of the pages.  He furrowed his eyebrows and picked the thing up off the floor.  Shawn immediately tensed when he saw what it was.  
  
A color photocopy of Belle's yearbook picture.  
  
  
Shalini gave Heather a gigantic hug.  "Not bad for your first day," the waitress said, grinning at the new server.  Heather smiled back...since rent was getting tougher to pay off, she knew she needed to stop expecting money from Mummy and Daddy.  Time to get out in the real world.  Okay, so the Olive Garden wasn't exactly the rough and tough life of her future, but it paid the bills.  Heather walked out the front door but Shalini chased after her.  "Hey, Heath, don't forget, you're working tomorrow night instead of Angela!" she called.     
  
Heather raised her arm up without turning around as she ran to her car.  "Got it!" she shouted.  
  
Brady, who had just pulled into his favorite restaurant's parking lot, grinned to himself.  Perfect.  
  
  
Jason lied down on the bed with a big bowl of popcorn as Mimi applied another layer of lip gloss.  
  
"Any more of that and you'll look like a drag queen," Jason said through a full mouth.  
  
Mimi glared at his reflection in her mirror.  "Are you ever going to go home?"  
  
"Look, I'm sorry.  I totally forgot your little, uh, sad excuse for a date is coming over tonight," Jason lied.  
  
"He's not sad...he's perfect," Mimi breathed.  She then spun around in a circle, laughing, and Jason snorted.  "Mimi Tyler Moore, breakin' it down."  
  
Mimi rolled her eyes and stopped spinning.  She held out her arms so Jason could get a better view of her outfit.  "Well?  Siskel and Ebert me."  
  
"Definitely, without a doubt, two thumbs up," Jason said, grinning.  Mimi was wearing a cute little lavender halter dress that ended right above the knees.  "Fun for the whole family...providing that family be a family of one by the name of Welles."  
  
Mimi let out a laugh and jumped on the bed, landing on her knees.  "Thanks, Jase.  Could've lived without that last comment, but thanks," she said, pulling him into a hug which he gladly returned.  "This is so cool.  You're like my George from My Best Friend's Wedding," she continued, pulling away.  
  
"George?!  The gay one?!"  
  
"Yeah.  I mean, I know you're not gay.  But you're totally my George.  You give me advice about guys and you told which outfit and shoes to wear tonight..." _Yeah, for my personal viewing pleasure,_ Jason thought.  "And I totally can't wait to try out our, um, lessons on Ethan!" she squealed.  The doorbell rang and Mimi jumped to her feet.  "Oh, God!  That's him!  How do I look?"  Before Jason could answer, Mimi was out the door.    
  
Jason sighed and put the popcorn on the table.  "Great.  I'm her George."  He followed Mimi out her bedroom door and watched as she swung it open.  She winked over her shoulder at Jason, sending him into a memory of last night.  
  
_Jason grabbed Mimi's hand and grinned.  "So...how did I do?"  
  
"Not bad," she responded smiling.  "You learn fast, Jase.  You lost some Romance Points when you went off on Ethan but--"  
  
"Well, on a real date, I'm hoping the girl won't accept another date while I'm there," Jason joked.  
  
Mimi laughed and Jason sighed to himself.  The night was a big disappointment.  He thought Mimi set this whole thing up to be with him.  Obviously, he had been downgraded to Friend.  Mimi looked down at her watch and pursed her lips.  "Well, Jase, looks like it's time for me to get inside."    
  
"So, this is part of the date where you invite me inside and we have wild sex, right?" Jason said with a mischievous glint in his eye.  
  
Mimi giggled and hit his chest.  "Jason, come on.  Romance 101 is still in session here, remember?"  
  
"Oh.  Well, what's left?"  
  
"The goodnight kiss," Mimi said, looking up.  Jason looked at her with his eyebrows raised.  What was going on with this girl?  "You need to learn how to kiss all sweet and stuff," Mimi continued.  "Kinda lean in all slow and--"  
  
Jason cupped her chin in his hand and titled her face up.  Mimi immediately shut up...she saw something in his eyes she never saw before.  It almost...mesmerized her.  
_  
_He lightly brought his lips to hers' and Mimi closed her eyes.  It was the most amazing kiss ever.  Sweet, gentle, caring--if a kiss could be caring.  It was...perfect.  Jason slowly pulled away and smiled when he saw that Mimi's eyes were still closed.  
  
"Well?  Does that earn me some Romance Points?"  
  
Mimi slowly opened her eyes.  "Definitely."  Jason swallowed when he saw Mimi lean towards him again.    
  
"Mimi!" a voice called from inside.  "It's cold out!  Say good-bye and get inside!"  
  
"That's my mom," she whispered.  "I--I have to go."  
  
_"Jason?  What are you doing here?" a voice interrupted his thoughts.  
  
"Ethan, my man.  Nice shirt," Jason nodded towards the guy.  It was a blinding white button-down shirt with rolled up sleeves.    
  
There was a tense silence until Mimi clapped her hands together.  "Well!  All right then!  Me and Ethan are going to go out to eat, so why don't you head out, Jase?"  
  
Jason nodded.  "All right."  He glared at Ethan and wrapped his arms around Mimi.  Mimi responded and then tried to pull away, but Jason only tightened his hold.  He was hoping to send a very clear message towards Ethan.  
  
"Um...Jason.  Jason!  I need some oxygen here."  Jason pulled away and Mimi gave him a strange look.  Those eyes...something special was in his eyes.  What was it?  
  
Ethan grabbed Mimi's hand possessively.  "Well, then.  Let's get going."    
  
Jason walked out the door first as Ethan and Mimi followed.  Jason stopped by his car door and fumbled in his pocket for the keys.  Ethan and Mimi walked past him to Ethan's car and Jason frowned when he noticed they were holding hands.  Ethan climbed into the driver's seat and Mimi opened her passenger side door.  She was about to climb in when she caught Jason's eye...and she froze.  Jason and Mimi stared at each other and Jason tried to figure out what was running through that beautiful head of hers.    
  
"Mimi!  Let's go!" called an impatient voice from the car.  It shook Mimi up from the spell and she broke the gaze quickly, climbing into the car.  Ethan sped off down the street and Jason hurried into his car.  
  
_That's it_, Jason thought.  He turned on the ignition and began to follow the girl of his dreams.   
  
**Chapter 30**  
Heather paced around her room. It was a big mistake to let Ethan stay with her, but she thought he had changed. But before he left to meet up with Mimi, his anger streak came out again...this time, another fight about Brady. She needed to call someone, talk to anyone. Before she could even think of a million reasons why it was wrong and stupid, her fingers were dialing a familiar number.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"B-Brady?"  
  
"Heather," replied a surprised voice. "Wow. Wasn't expecting you."  
  
"I need to talk to you," she said softly.  
  
"Hey, Heath, I'm sorry. I gotta go get ready."  
  
"G-get ready? Ready for what?"  
  
"I'm going out with a friend," Brady said, a grin creeping over his face. This was going to be easier than he thought.   
  
"What friend?"  
  
Brady wondered if there was a jealous tone to her voice. "Jealous, are we?"  
  
Heather paused. "Curious."  
  
Brady snorted. "Right. Well, it's my friend...Chris," he said with a smirk.   
  
Heather hoped he didn't hear her sigh of relief. "Oh. Okay."  
  
"So I'll talk to you later."  
  
"Wait, I--"  
  
"Bye, Heath!" Brady hung up the phone. _Don't worry...you'll be able to talk to me sooner than you think, Heather._  
  
Heather stared at the phone and threw it done with a frustrated yell. She slowly suck down as tears trickled down her face...she couldn't help shaking. Between Ethan and Brady, Heather could hardly take it anymore.  
  
  
Brady rung the doorbell and tried to hide his smug face. He couldn't wait to see Heather's reaction. She thinks she's the only one that can move on from them? Well, he'll show her.  
  
"Hey, Brady," Christina said, opening the door. Brady grinned at the sight...if he was going to make Heather jealous, he picked the right girl.  
  
"Hey, Christina. You look great."  
  
"Thanks," she said, leaning against her doorway. "I'm still kinda surprised, you know."  
  
"Surprised? Why?"  
  
"Well, from what Belle told me, you're not exactly the type for dinner and a movie."  
  
Brady rose his eyebrows. "Do you always believe in everything you hear?"  
  
Christina let out a laugh and stepped out of the doorway. "From Belle? Hells yeah. That girl could give the Pope a run for his money."  
  
"True," Brady sighed. "But Belle only knows Brother-Brady. She doesn't know Dating-Brady. Thank God, because that would be all sorts of gross."  
  
Christina laughed and nodded. "All right, I get what you're saying."  
  
Brady continued anyway. "I may not be the flowers-and-candy type of guy, but I have my ways of making up for it."  
  
"Oh, yeah? Prove it."  
  
"I plan on it," Brady said with a wink.  
  
Christina closed her door and walked towards Brady. "Well, this better be one hell of a date. I was in the mood for candy," she said with a smile.  
  
Brady smiled back. One hell of a date is right.  
  
  
Heather leaned against the wall near the kitchen and exhaled shakily.  
  
"Hey, girl! You all right?"   
  
Heather looked over to see Shalini approaching her. "Yeah. I'm just glad it's not busy here tonight," she said, gesturing to the tables in the Olive Garden.  
  
Shalini grabbed Heather's arm gently. "Woah, Heather, what happened?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Your arm! That bruise is gigantic."  
  
Heather quickly pulled her arm back. "N-nothing. It's nothing. I just fell down the stairs at my complex today."  
  
"You live on the ground floor," Shalini pointed out.   
  
Heather opened her mouth to respond, but luckily Fred, the dorky seater with a crush on Shalini, approached the waitress. He casually slung an arm over Shalini's shoulders.  
  
"Hey, honey," he said loudly.  
  
Shalini rolled her eyes at Heather and slowly removed Fred's arm from around her. "Back off, creep." Heather tried to stifle her laughter as Fred mouthed to her 'She wants me'. "What do you want, Fred?" Shalini asked. "Aren't you supposed to be at the host stand?"  
  
"Yeah, Heather, you have two people in your section that I just sat," Fred replied.  
  
Heather sighed and gave Shalini a grin before walking over to her section. She giggled as she heard Shalini yell that she wasn't going to make out with Fred in the kitchen. Heather halted in her steps when she saw who was sitting at the table. No. She couldn't.  
  
"Um...waitress?" a smug voice called out.   
  
Heather clenched her jaw and marched over to Brady's table. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Well, there's only one thing to do at a resturant, Heather," Brady said as he tapped the menu against the table. "Didn't know you worked here."  
  
"Well, now you know," she spat. "So leave."  
  
Brady nodded. "Can't just leave a friend, can I?"  
  
Heather finally noticed he was sitting alone. "Oh..that Chris kid?"  
  
"Yeah...um, Chris is in the bathroom. So how about you just bring that bread basket over?"  
  
Heather glared at Brady. "I'll be happy to," she said through her teeth. Heather stormed off muttering just as Christina returned to the table. Brady watched as Heather stalked off, but Christina's voice made him jump back to reality.  
  
"Oh, did you already order?"  
  
"Huh? Oh...no, just some bread."  
  
Christina nodded. "So, " she said, clasping her hands together on the table. She looked over to see a man playing a violin a few tables over. Christina smiled to herself...this resturant was so perfect.  
  
"How's cheerleading going?" Brady asked, looking over Christina's shoulder to see if Heather caught his date yet.  
  
Christina turned in her seat to see what Brady was looking at. "What is it?"  
  
"What's what?"  
  
"What are you looking at?" Christina asked, turning back in her seat.  
  
"Huh?" _Get yourself together, Brady...Heather's not going to get jealous if your date gets pissed off at you._ "Oh...just...looking at you."  
  
Christina nearly choked on her water. "Oh, come on, Brady, you can do better than that."  
  
Brady looked up in surprise. "What?"  
  
"Looking at me? Do you really expect me to fall for that? I'm not over there," Christina responded, pointing behind her.   
  
Brady held up his hands in defense. "Your right, I'm sorry. I...I was looking at the man playing the violin."  
  
Christina raised her eyebrows skeptically and sighed. "Yeah, I was looking at him before, too. It's so beautiful, isn't it?"  
  
Brady saw Heather rush into the kitchen. "Yeah...beautiful."  
  
Christina saw once again that Brady wasn't exactly concentrating on her. "Brady...what's going on?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Is there a reason you asked me out that you're not telling me?" Christina asked, leaning back in her chair.  
  
Brady opened his mouth a little. This girl was good. "All right...you caught me," he sighed. Too bad he was better.  
  
"Caught you?" Christina asked, frowning.  
  
"Yeah...I wanted to surprise you...but..." Brady stood up in his chair and gestured to the man playing the violin.  
  
"Brady!" Christina exclaimed. "What are you doing?"  
  
The man with the violin nodded and gracefully walked towards Brady and Christina. He began playing a beautiful melody and smiled knowingly and the two people before him. Brady held out his hand and smiled charmingly. "Care to dance?"  
  
Christina looked around her. "Um...no one dances at the Olive Garden, Brady."  
  
"Until now," he responded.   
  
Christina laughed and took his hand. Brady led her out a few feet from the table and wrapped her into his arms. Christina smiled up at him...maybe he wasn't as bad as she first thought. The two began to sway and Christina giggled into Brady's chest. People at the other tables turned to watch the two with smiles on their faces.  
  
"What are you laughing at?" Brady said, smiling.  
  
"People are staring..."  
  
"So let's give them something to stare at," Brady said with a grin. He cupped Christina's chin in his hand and leaned forward.  
  
  
Shalini grinned at the young couple dancing a few feet away.  
  
"Shalini? Would you like to dance?"  
  
Shalini turned to see Fred with a creepy smile on his face. "Um...maybe some other time."  
  
Heather rushed up next to Shalini with a bread basket. "What's everyone staring at?"  
  
Shalini looked over and nodded at the two people. "Dancing Queen and her prince."  
  
Heather struggled to see the two peoples' faces. "Don't they know this isn't a dance club?"  
  
"Ah, you big grump," Shalini laughed, nudging Heather's elbow. "I think it's sweet."  
  
Suddenly, the dancing partners spun around and Heather dropped the bread onto the floor with a gasp.   
  
"Heath? What is it?"  
  
Heather watched with tears in her eyes as Brady began to kiss another girl.   
  
**Chapter 31  
  
**Philip repeatedly banged the side of his head against the passenger window.  Chloe reached from the back-seat and pulled Philip to the side.  "Philip!  Stop, you're going to hurt yourself!"_  
  
_"I want to know what's going on," Philip complained, pointedly staring at Jason.  He was having a grand old time kissing his girlfriend when Jason barged into his room.  Without a word, Jason grabbed both of them, dragged the couple into the car and sped off.    
  
"I'd like to know, also," Chloe said, sitting back.  
  
Jason gripped the steering wheel tighter.  He had followed Ethan and Mimi to the Olive Garden.  He had sat in the parking lot before he realized he had no idea what he was doing.  Jason decided to get some help and Philip was the first person who had come to mind.  Jason looked in the rearview mirror.  "Chloe, you're a girl, right?" he asked.  
  
Chloe stared at him blankly.  "I'm not even going to answer that."  
  
Jason sighed and made a left.  "I mean, do **you** know what Mimi could possibly see in Ethan?"  
  
Chloe shook her head.  "No, I don't."    
  
Jason punched the steering wheel as Philip closed his eyes in realization.  "See?!"  Jason shouted.  
  
"I also have no idea who Ethan is or what's going on," Chloe continued.    
  
Philip glanced over at Jason.  "She's on a date, huh?"  
  
"With Heather's friend," Jason answered bitterly, pulling into the Olive Garden's parking lot.  "Dude, this guy is such a yuppie."  
  
"Who?" Chloe asked, scooting up.  
  
Philip shook his head.  "Man, that sucks.  I'm sorry."  
  
"Why do you care if Mimi's on a date?"  Chloe asked Jason and then immediately put it together once the words left her mouth.  "Oh!  Oh, my god!  You **do** like Mimi!"  
  
Jason sighed and tilted his head back.  "Yeah, but I'm just her George."  
  
"Is that supposed to make sense?" Philip asked, looking over at his friend.    
  
Jason turned off the car and shifted in his seat to face Philip and see Chloe.  "You guys have to help me."  
  
Chloe held up her hands.  "I am not getting involved."  
  
Philip nodded.  "Yeah, Jase, you should have asked her out when you had the chance.  This is your mess," he said gently.  
  
Chloe sighed and looked out the window.  Sure, it was great that Jason finally admitted he wanted to be with Mimi.  But she was feeling pretty bitter because Jason interrupted something potentially life-changing.  Philip had told her he was ready when she was ready.  Chloe closed her eyes--she was ready.  Too bad Jason busted in before she could tell Philip she was ready to take the next step.  
  
"Come on," Jason whined.    
  
"What exactly are you planning to do?" Philip asked.  
  
"Well..."  
  
"You were just planning on spying on them, weren't you?" Chloe assumed.  
  
"No," Jason said defensively and weakly.  
  
"Why do you need our help to stare out a window?!"  Philip shouted.  
  
"That's why!  I need a better plan than watching them from outside."  
  
"I'll say," Chloe muttered.  
  
"So?" Jason asked hopefully.  "What's our plan?"  
  
Philip sighed in defeat.  "All right.  Look, me and Chloe will go in the restaurant.  We can make some excuse and ask to get seated to a different table in case we aren't seated near Mimi and her date.  You stay out here, since Meems would be suspicious if she saw you, and we'll take turns reporting to you.  If it seems Mimi's having a bad time, that's your clue that its nothing serious and you can ask her out tomorrow.  Is that ok with you, Chloe?"  
  
Chloe shrugged.  "It's fine, I'm hungry, anyway."  
  
Jason jumped in his seat excitedly.  "All right!  Go Operation Get-Mimi!" he shouted with enthusiasm, putting his hand out.  He waited for Philip and Chloe to put their hands on top of his. Instead they just rolled their eyes and climbed out of the car.  
  
"Can you bring back some of those dinner mints?" Jason called after them.  
  
  
"So, I said, 'the car's maroon, not red!'"  Ethan said loudly, cracking up.  
  
Mimi forced out another laugh.  "Oh, god," she muttered underneath her breath.  How did Heather put up with this loser?  From the moment they sat down, Ethan had begun an extensive monologue...about himself.  Mimi wouldn't be surprised if he had forgotten she was there.  
  
"I mean, jocks can be so dumb," Ethan said with a disgusted sigh.  
  
"Jason's not dumb," Mimi spat.  Ethan rose his eyebrows in surprise and Mimi bit her lip.  Where did that come from?  
  
"I didn't say he was," Ethan said slowly.  
  
"Well, he's a jock.  Therefore, you're calling him stupid...and he's not," Mimi said defensively.  "That's all."  
  
"Well, I find that hard to believe," Ethan replied.  "Jason doesn't exactly seem like Yale material.  He seems to be quite a caveman."  
  
"Well, he's _my_ caveman," Mimi blurted out, throwing down her fork.  Ethan looked at her in confusion and Mimi felt puzzled herself.  Since when was Jason "hers"?  He's just a good friend and she's known to be possessive of her friends, Mimi assured herself.  Nothing wrong with defending a friend.  
  
Ethan rolled his eyes.  "Whatever.  All I'm saying is that boy is rude and an embarrassment."  
  
Mimi's eyes clouded over in anger.  That's it.  
  
  
Philip watched as Chloe returned from reporting to Jason and took her seat.  "So, what did Jason say?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing important.  Just like nothing important is happening on their date," Chloe said, nodding towards Mimi and Ethan.  
  
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Philip replied.  Chloe realized Mimi was looking very upset.  Suddenly her friend stood up and started yelling.  
  
"Jason is NOT an embarrassment!"  
  
"Mimi, sit down," Ethan muttered, looking around him.  
  
"No!  I don't care if everyone's staring at me!  Jason is a great guy and doesn't deserve to be ragged on by you!"    
  
Chloe smirked as Philip frantically wrote Mimi's words on a napkin.  
  
"He's sweet, funny, which is more than I can say for you, and wonderful!  And, sure, Jason can be immature.  But at least he cares about me!"  
  
Ethan stood up, blushing, and dragged Mimi out of the resturant.  Philip grabbed the napkin, winked at Chloe and got up to leave, but Chloe grabbed his arm.  "Philip, wait."  
  
"What is it, babe?  Jason will want to read this."  
  
"I know.  But...tonight."  
  
"What about tonight?"  
  
"Come to my window before midnight, okay?  Just climb in," Chloe blurted out.    
  
Philip's expression grew interested.  "Not that I don't want to, but why?"  
  
"Well, when you come, you'll find out," Chloe said softly while blushing.  
  
Philip simply grinned and gave Chloe a quick kiss.  "I'll be right back," he whispered.  Chloe took a deep breath.  No turning back now.  
  
  
Mimi shook her arm from Ethan's grasp.  "Ouch!  Geez!" she shouted, rubbing her arm.  
  
"You didn't have to scream at me in front of everyone," Ethan said.  
  
"Does it bother you more that I'm upset with you or that I made a scene?" Mimi shot back.  She could have sworn she saw Philip bolt out of the second entrance and into the parking lot, but she shook it off.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Ethan asked impatiently.  
  
"Clueless, party of one, your table is ready!" Mimi yelled.  "Don't you see how self-involved you are?  All I heard about tonight was you.  Your car.  Your college.  Your car.  Your golf score last Thursday. Your car. Your two dogs and a bird.  Oh, and I think you talked a little bit about your car.  Well, news flash, Ethan...I...don't...care!"  
  
Ethan looked confused.  "So...what **do** you want to talk about?"  
  
"Anything but your car!" Mimi shouted in exasperation.    
  
Ethan couldn't help smiling.  "You look really pretty right now, Mimi.  I mean, in the moonlight and all."  
  
Mimi looked at him in shock.  "You know that we're fighting at this moment, right?"  
  
"I don't want to fight, Mimi.  Look, I'm sorry I babbled on tonight...I was really nervous about this date.  I just wanted to impress you," Ethan said.  He said these lines before, and by now he had gotten them down perfectly.  _High school girls are so easy to fool,_ Ethan thought to himself.  Mimi didn't even know he invited her to the Olive Garden so he see Heather to make sure she didn't tell Brady that Ethan had hit her.  "Because you've impressed me the first time I saw you...I wanted to return the favor.  But I promise, no more talk about me.  We'll go back inside and have a nice, normal conversation."    
  
Mimi looked less upset, but still uneasy.  Ethan leaned forward.  "I promise, Mimi.  I do want to learn more about you and I am interested in you."  Mimi still looked unconvinced.  "I'll prove it," Ethan whispered.  He pressed his lips against hers and Mimi returned the kiss.  When Ethan began to pull away, Mimi pressed herself against him.  In between kisses, Mimi breathed something that Ethan didn't really want to hear.  
  
"Jason..."  
  



	13. Parts 32, 33 and 34

**Chapter 32**  
Belle reclined on Shawn's sofa as he paced across the living room.  "Shawn, please.  Calm down."  
  
Shawn stopped and flung Belle's picture on the table as Belle rolled her eyes at the Brady temper.  "Calm down?  Some creep is carrying around a picture of my girlfriend and you want me to calm down?"  
  
"Yes!" Belle said, standing up to put her hands on Shawn's shoulders.  "Look, I told you.  Sam's on yearbook, right?"  Shawn nodded.  "Well, the staff has pictures they want to put on the collage page, right?" Shawn clenched his jaw and nodded again.  "And they need to the student's permission to put their picture on the page.  He was probably going to ask me before you came over, Tough Boy."  
  
Shawn gave an 'a-ha' look.  "Oh, yeah?  Then why didn't Sam just ask you while I was there?"  
  
Belle sighed in exasperation.  "Why are you looking for reasons to be jealous?  He probably just got nervous, he's really shy.  You know that."  
  
Shawn sighed in defeat.  "You're right," he admitted.  "I'm sorry, I don't know what all that was about."  
  
"Maybe misplaced jealously," she pointed out.  
  
"I'm sorry, baby.  Let's just drop it," he said, wrapping Belle into a hug.  
  
Belle grinned.  "About time."  
  
Shawn pointed down at the floor.  "So, you're going to help me finish this poster or what?"  
  
"Help **you**?"  Belle laughed in disbelief.  "That's **my** artwork," she said proudly, pointing at the half-done poster of the former President.  
  
"No, I drew the White House," Shawn said in defense with a pout.    
  
"Oh, is **that** what that is?" Belle teased, leaning closer to the posterboard.    
  
"Hey, hey, no ragging on my skills," Shawn joked, lifting Belle up from behind.  She screamed and started kicking her legs as Shawn flopped her over his shoulder.  "Funny how we're alone in the house...no parents, no baby...and all we're doing in homework," Shawn said mischievously.    
  
Belle groaned.  "Is that all you think about?"  
  
"Did you remember that I am a seventeen-year-old guy with a hot girlfriend?  Pretty much, yeah," Shawn joked as Belle tried to swat his shoulder without falling.    
  
Suddenly, Belle's cell phone rang from her bag.  "Can you get that?"  Shawn slowly leaned over, making sure he wouldn't drop Belle from over his shoulder.  "Just dig around in there."  Shawn opened the purse to find a mountain of girlie stuff.    
  
"Geez, the new Wonder of the World:  The Bottomless Purse."  Shawn shifted through make-up and brushes.  He began pulling things out as the phone continued to ring and Belle giggled at Shawn's frustration.  "Ew!" he screamed, flinging a tampon across the room.  Belle rolled her eyes as Shawn made a disgusted face.  Finally, he grabbed the phone and flipped it open.  "Hello?" he asked.  Nothing.  "Hello?"  
  
"Um...is B-Belle there?"  
  
"Yeah, hold on a sec."  Shawn gently put Belle down and handed her the phone.  
  
"Hello?" Belle chirped.  
  
Inhale.  Exhale.  Inhale.  Exhale.  
  
Belle swallowed at the sound of the breathing.  "Who is this?"  The breathing grew more shallow on the other line.  "Hello?" Belle asked again, her voice cracking with fear.  She turned to Shawn with frightened eyes and Shawn took the phone.  "Hey, who is this?" he demanded.  
  
"Back off.  Your Perfect Girl is going to be mine."  
  
_Click.  
  
  
_Brady pulled away and looked over Christina's shoulder to see Heather's back going into the kitchen.  He wondered if she saw.  Some of the customers in the restaurant applauded Christina and Brady's kiss and dance and they sheepishly took their seats.  
  
"Well," Christina said with a laugh.  
  
Brady stared at the kitchen's doors.  **Did** she see or not?  
  
Christina threw her hands up.  "That's it.  I give up."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Brady, what's the color of my eyes?" Christina asked, immediately shutting them.  
  
_Dammit,_ Brady thought.  "Um...hazel?"  
  
Christina opened her eyes to reveal a pair of angry brown eyes.  "Am I wearing a skirt or pants?  And don't look under the table."  
  
"Um...pants?" Brady guessed.  
  
Christina made a buzzer sound and stood up to reveal a knee-length skirt.  "Geez, Brady, do you even remember my name?"  
  
"Christina!" he said proudly.  
  
"At least you paid attention to something," Christina mumbled.  "Why did you even ask me here?  Were you in the mood for Italian and just didn't have anyone to go with?  Or this some sort of mean joke?"  
  
"Christina, I--"  
  
"Thanks a lot, Brady.  What a date!  I might have well came by myself.  I'd probably have a much better time!" Christina yelled.  
  
"Christina, I'm sorry!"  Brady suddenly felt very guilty.  Here was an innocent, kind, pretty girl and he was just using her.  "Look...honestly?  I brought you here...to make my ex-girlfriend jealous."  
  
Christina stared at him blankly.  She then grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair.  "Good-bye, Brady," she said steadily.  
  
"Wait!  Please, I'm really sorry."  
  
"Oh, are you?" she asked coldly.  
  
"Yes, I am.  I shouldn't have used you like I did...you're a great girl and deserve more than me being selfish."  
  
Christina plopped down in her chair.  "You got that right," she muttered.  
  
"You're staying?" Brady asked hopefully.  He wanted to make it up to her since he wasn't being fair before.  Thanks to Heather, shades of the Old-Brady were coming through and he wanted to treat Christina with...respect.  
  
"I have no way of getting home since you picked me up," she pointed out.  
  
"Look, Christina, I really am sorry.  Let's start over."  Christina still looked skeptical.  "I swear.  This date will be you and me from now on, not you, me and Heather."  
  
Before she could respond, two plates of spaghetti plopped down on the table.  The two looked up to see Heather with a fake grin on her face.  
  
Christina, not noticing the mock smile, pointed at the spaghetti.  "Um, we didn't order anything yet," she said kindly.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry," Heather gushed with syrupy sweetness.  Brady cleared his throat.  "Well, my treat," she continued, batting her lashes.  
  
"Really?" Christina asked suspiciously.  Some strange waitress handing out free food?  
  
"Sure!  Sort of a congratulations," Heather smiled.  
  
"Congratulations?"  
  
"Yes.  Congrats, **Chris**.  You've been kissed by a horrible, whiny, pathetic, bitchy, sad excuse for a man," Heather spat, never taking her eyes off of Brady.  
  
_Oops,_ he thought.  _Plan Backfiring!  May Day!  May Day!  
  
_Christina's eyes were full of realization.  "Oh...you're Heather..."  
  
"Yes, yes I am.  Did Brady tell you that before or after he mauled you?"  
  
Christina decided to keep her mouth shut and let Brady and Heather work it out.  Besides, Heather's angry eyes were still locked on Brady.  
  
"Heather, not here," Brady pleaded.  
  
"Oh?  Why not?" Heather asked, putting her hands on her hips.  "You can make out with some chick here, but I can't yell at you here?"  
  
"Why do you care?  You're not my girlfriend anymore," Brady pointed out.  
  
"Oh, give it up, Brady!  We had a fight!  It's not like I don't love you anymore," Heather blurted out.  
  
Christina buried her face in her hands.  This couldn't get any more uncomfortable.  
  
Brady stared at Heather.  "Y-you do?" he finally got out.  
  
Shalini came up behind Heather with a tray.  "Heath," she said gently.  "You better get working or you're gonna get fired.  This new manager's a bitch."  
  
"Shalini, meet Brady Black," Heather said tensely.  
  
Shalini's memory was flooded with talks about the infamous Brady.  "Oh...kick his ass," she decided before going to serve the soup of the day.  Brady ignored the waitress and the girl across from him.  All he could see was Heather, his Heather.  Who was still in love with him.  "Heather--"  
  
"But obviously, you don't love me back."  
  
"That's not true!" Brady protested.  
  
Heather laughed bitterly.  "Really?!  You show love by kissing another girl?  You show love by being an asshole to me?  You need some help on the definition of love, then, Brady...you're a **little** off!"  
  
Brady tried to get his plan back on track.  "Heather, you're just yelling out of jealously.  Just calm--"  
  
"Screw you, Brady," Heather said lowly, before lifting the plate of spaghetti and dumping it over his head.  Brady sat there in surprise and Christina sighed miserably as Heather ripped off her apron and ran out of the restaurant crying.  
  
Christina stared at a shocked spaghetti-wearing Brady with a smirk on her face.    
  
"So," she said, opening her menu calmly.  "Now that you've had dinner, what do you want for dessert?"  
  
  
"They're arguing right now near the side entrance," Philip offered.  Jason still stared at the napkin in front of him.  
  
_She called me wonderful.  _A small smile creeped over his face.  _Mimi called me wonderful.  No one ever called me that before...but **she** did._  
  
Jason flung open the car door and Philip immediately grabbed onto his arm.  "Woah, dude, where are you going?"  
  
"To see Mimi," he answered simply.  
  
"You're crazy!  She'd flip if she saw you here!  Mimi knew that you knew that she and Ethan were going out to dinner tonight.  She'll realize that you were spying on her," Philip pointed out.  
  
"But I didn't know they were coming **here**," Jason shot back before happily climbing out his car.  "Mimi will be happy to have me save her from boring old Sweater Vest," he called.  
  
  
"What did you say?!"  Ethan's voice rang out.  Mimi bit her lip...that kiss was...awful.  With Jason, it was exciting and passionate, but sweet and gentle.  And before she knew it, Mimi had been daydreaming about Jason's kisses and was breathing his name.  "I said..."  
  
"Jason's name!" Ethan roared.  
  
"Ethan," Mimi said carefully.  She never saw so much rage in someone's eyes before.   
  
"Where do you get off calling me that while you're kissing me?"  
  
"Ethan, leave her alone," a shaky voice called out.  Mimi and Ethan looked over to see a tearstained Heather and Ethan marched over to the girl.  
  
"Don't tell me what to do, Heath."  
  
"I'm not scared of you anymore," Heather announced, clenching her fist.  
  
Ethan smirked and gave her a hard hit across the face.  Mimi cried out as the side of Heather's head made contact with the wall.  Heather sunk to the floor and Ethan turned to Mimi, who backed up a few steps in fear.  
  
  
Jason jogged to the building.  _Mimi, will you be my girlfriend?_  Too simple.  _Mimi, you're amazing and--_  He heard a cry.  Jason looked up to see Mimi and Ethan a few feet away and Heather on the ground.  He frowned in confusion.  
  
"So, **Meems**, tell me.  **Who** was the better kisser?"  Jason slowly realized what was happening when he heard Ethan's tone of voice.  _No...it couldn't be.  
_  
Mimi straightened up bravely and shot Ethan an angry glare.  "Jason."  
  
Before Jason could smile, Ethan backhanded Mimi across the face.   _    
  
****_Chapter 33  
Christina wiped the last of the sauce off of Brady's face and sighed.  "There, got it," she said grumpily.  Brady pulled another noodle from off of his head and threw it onto the plate.  "Thanks," he muttered.  
  
"That's one interesting ex ya got there, Brady."  Brady smiled sadly in agreement.  "What did you do to her?"  
  
"What?" Brady spat.  
  
"Oh, c'mon.  I doubt she just goes dumping spaghetti on all her customers," Christina pointed out as Brady laughed at the image.  
  
"You never know with that girl's temper."  
  
"Sorta like yours," Christina said carefully.  
  
"How would--"  
  
"Belle shared some stories," Christina said simply.  
  
Brady tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling.  "Yeah, we're both really stubborn people.  I guess it's always been an obstacle between us."  
  
Christina shook her head.  "Look.  So you have some problems...every couple does.  The only thing that matters now is that she loves you."  
  
Brady rose his eyebrows skeptically.  "Said my date."  
  
"Brady, I think we both know that I'm not here to be your date," Christina said with an edge to her tone.  "Might as well make you open your eyes since I've got nothing else to do here."  
  
"You know I'm sorry about that, right?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah.  Stop apologizing and go fix this," Christina said, a smile involuntarily crawling over her face.  Belle had always said matchmaking was to Christina as shopping was to Belle.    
  
Brady frowned in surprise.  "Are you sure?"  
  
Christina gave a small smile and nodded slightly.  "I'll call up Jessica and get her to pick me up."  
  
_"_I feel bad just deserting you."  
  
"Wouldn't you feel worse if you never saw Heather again?"  Christina pointed out.  Brady let her words sink in as Christina got up to find a payphone.  
  
_"_Wait!" he shouted, springing up and grabbing her elbow.  Brady kissed Christina softly on the lips and gave her a grateful smile.  "Thank you."    
  
Christina just smiled back and turned to find the phones.  Brady ran off to find Heather...the woman he loved and always did.  
  
  
Philip plopped down across from Chloe.  "Well, I called the chauffeur, he's bringing the limo up."  
  
Chloe looked up from her dinner in surprise.  "Why aren't we just going home with Jason?"  
  
"He might, um, take while."  
  
"Take a while doing--oh, geez.  Tell me he's not going to talk to Mimi."  
  
Philip shrugged.  "He's not going to talk to Mimi."  Chloe sighed in relief but Philip continued.  "He's going to ask Mimi out instead."  
  
Chloe dropped her fork.  "With Ethan there?"  
  
Philip took a sip from his water.  "I don't think Jason really gives a damn."  
  
"I never thought...I mean...Jason Welles and Mimi Lockhart."  
  
Philip shook his head.  "Tell me about it.  Hopefully, Meems won't reject him."  He looked at his watch.  "Soooo, baby, tell me what time exactly do you want me over?"  
  
Chloe swallowed nervously.  "Um...well, before midnight because I don't really want to wait." Philip grinned and his eyes were full of curiosity.  "But," she continued.  "After ten o'clock...I have to, uh, get something at the store."  
  
  
Mimi fell to the ground and stayed there in shock.  She never had been hit before and it definitely didn't feel wonderful.  Her face stung and tears immediately fell from her eyes.  
  
It took Jason all of five seconds to pounce on to Ethan, knocking them both to the ground.  
  
"You asshole!" he screamed, bringing his fist down on Ethan's face again and again.  All that ran through his mind was the image of Mimi being hit.  His only thought was this jackass hurt his Mimi and now Ethan was going to answer to him.  
  
Ethan whined as blood began to cover his face, which made Jason hit him even harder.  "What's the matter, Ethan?  Can dish it out on a girl but can't take a man?" Ethan tried to throw a punch towards Jason, but he easily dodged it.  "Those years of law school ain't helping now, are they?!"  Jason continued to pound Ethan's face, ignoring his groans of pain.  
  
"JASON!" A scream froze Jason's actions.  He looked over his shoulder to see Mimi sitting up against the wall.  One side of her face was red and tears were streaming down her cheeks.  Jason lifted himself off of Ethan and crawled towards Mimi.  
  
"Jason..." she said again quietly, sniffing.  Ethan groaned again from behind them.  
  
Jason carefully placed his hand on the spot where Mimi was hit.  "Are y-you okay?"  
  
Mimi wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.  "You really kicked his ass," she said with a soft laugh.  Jason smiled slightly, but his face was covered with concern.  He gently ran his hand through Mimi's hair.  
  
"Why did you say...my name, Meems?" he scolded lightly.  "You knew he'd get mad."  
  
Mimi looked up and shook her head.  "Don't you remember Lesson Number 18?" she joked.  
  
"Never lie to your date," they said together.  Mimi's eyes widened in surprise that Jason remembered.  They stared at each other in silence before another moan broke the gaze.  "Obviously, Khaki Boy forgot The Universal Lesson: Never hit your date."  Jason's eyes darkened and Mimi grabbed his arm.    
  
"It's okay, Jase.  I'm okay now."  
  
"Your okay now?  Mimi, you were backhanded by some bastard yuppie and you're just okay now?" Jason asked in disbelief.  
  
"I just meant...I'm okay now b-because you're h-here," she stammered.  Jason gulped and tried to think of something to say.  Something clever, comforting...anything!  
  
Suddenly Mimi gasped.  "Heather!"  
  
Jason looked over to the collapsed Heather and he and Mimi immediately scrambled to her side.  They didn't even notice as a bloody Ethan began to drag himself to a standing position near the wall.  Jason gently moved Heather's face to see that the hit against the wall left a big gash on the side of her head.  Mimi began to cry and Jason was begging Heather to wake up as he smoothed out her hair, half of which was matted down with blood.  
  
"What the hell is going on?"   
  
Mimi, Jason and Ethan looked up to see a shocked Brady._  
_  
**Chapter 34  
**"Well?" Belle asked impatiently.  "Who was it?"  
  
Shawn muttered something to himself and ran his hand through his hair.  "D-don't worry about it.  Let's get back to the project."  
  
Belle crossed her arms.  "Okay, now I **know** something's up.  The day you're wanting to do homework is the day Brady and Mom share a loving hug.  Now, who was it?"  
  
"Sam," Shawn sighed.  
  
"What?" Belle asked skeptically.  
  
"I mean, he didn't tell me it was him.  But I recognized his voice," Shawn said.  "Even though it wasn't the shy, quiet voice we're used to."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Shawn looked up at the ceiling.  "Let's just say Sam's voice can get a very threatening edge to it."  
  
Belle's eyes were immediately filled with concern.  "Threatening?  He threatened you?"  Shawn just looked down at his feet and Belle grew panicked.  "Shawn!  What did he say?!"  
  
"That...you'll soon be his," Shawn muttered angrily through his teeth.  
  
Belle slowly plopped down on the couch.  The room was full of silence until Belle finally spoke up.  "Are you sure it was Sam?  I mean, Shawn, he's so harmless!" she protested.  
  
Shawn nodded.  "I'm positive, Belle.  I'm also positive I'm going to kick that bastard's ass."  
  
Belle sighed.  "Shawn..." she warned.  
  
"Look, Belle, I know you're not a big fan of violence, but he's threatening to take you away from me," Shawn protested.  
  
Belle wrapped her arms around Shawn's neck and lightly kissed his nose.  "It doesn't matter, Shawn.  No one could ever take me away from you."  
  
"So you're not scared?" Shawn asked.  
  
Belle shook her head rapidly and Shawn chuckled as her hair whipped him in his face.  "He'll get over it, Shawn.  Trust me.  He's just...lonely."  
  
"That's no reason to carry around your picture, somehow get your cell phone number and start calling you," Shawn pointed out, tightening his grip on Belle protectively.  
  
Belle dramatically rolled her eyes and grabbed Shawn's collar.  "Shawn.  Please stop talking about this.  Fine, so Sam's a little weird and he made a prank call.  It's no reason to call up your dad and file a report, okay?"  
  
Shawn flashed a mischievous grin.  "You know, you're cute when you're upset."   
  
Belle rose her eyebrows mockingly.  "Are you saying I'm not always cute?" she joked.  
  
Shawn took one look into her piercing blue eyes and buried his face against Belle's neck.  "I'm saying that I'm done talking for tonight," he growled against her skin.  
  
Belle swallowed and closed her eyes.  She never knew how to react when Shawn got like this...which was pretty often, lately.  It drove her crazy but the fire between them was growing more each day and both of them knew it.  Shawn was, of course, more comfortable with that fact but Belle wasn't sure if it meant they should take their relationship to the next level.  
  
Belle opened her eyes to find her staring into Shawn's worried expression.  "Are you okay, babe?"  Belle smiled at Shawn's concern...he always knew when to continue or when to back off.  
  
"I'm okay...I was just thinking," she replied.  
  
"Well, penny for your thoughts," Shawn said softly, brushing her hair back behind her ear.  
  
"Truth?  I'm a little...scared.  I guess," Belle stammered.  
  
"Scared?  Scared of what?  Of Sam?" Shawn said, straightening up.  Belle tried not to giggle when Shawn went into instant protective mode.  
  
"Of us...I mean...everything seems to be moving so fast, that I don't know what to do.  I mean, if I should--if we should..." Belle said nervously.   
  
Shawn gently took her chin in his hand and smiled.  "Belle, sweetie, I love you.  And you know you're not obligated to do anything you're not ready for."  
  
Belle smiled out of relief.  "How did I get so lucky?  Most boyfriends would--"  
  
"I don't care what most boyfriends would do.  Belle, it took us our whole lives to get where we are now.  I want you to be happy...I don't want you to regret a thing," Shawn said, never taking his eyes of off Belle's face.  
  
Belle leaned her forehead against Shawn's.  "I love you," she whispered.  Her cell phone rang again and Belle frowned.  Shawn sighed out of frustration and grabbed the phone.  
  
"Listen, why don't you just leave Belle alone?" Shawn spat.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Well?  Speak up, I'm not in the mood for your games."  
  
After a long pause, a voice answered.  "S-Shawn?"  
  
Shawn closed his eyes in embarrassment.  "Oh.  Hey, Chloe."  Belle couldn't help but to burst out in laughter.  
  
"Um...is everything all right?" she asked in confusion.  
  
"Yeah, don't worry about it," he assured her.  "Here's Belle."  
  
"Hey, Chloe," Belle chirped.  
  
"Hey, Belle...look, what are you doing tonight?"  
  
Belle bit her lip.  "Well, me and Shawn were just finishing up our project for History.  Why?"  
  
"Well, I just got home from the Olive Garden and I need your help.  Could you come over in an hour?"  
  
"Um...hold on a sec," Belle said, and then turned to Shawn who was working on the poster.  "Do you think we can finish this in an hour?  Chloe needs my help."  Shawn gave her the thumbs-up and Belle returned to the cell phone.  "I'll be there."  
  
  
Chloe and Belle walked into the grocery store while Belle was being as perky as ever.  "I can't believe you're going to do this, Chloe!" she squealed.  "Wow...I mean...wow.  Are you nervous?"  
  
"I'm scared to death," Chloe admitted.  
  
Belle pointed to the shopping bag that Chloe was carrying.  "Well, that is definitely a good choice."  Belle and Chloe had stopped at the mall before going to the grocery store.  
  
Chloe looked down at the bag.  "Are you sure it's...well, is it...?"  
  
Belle sighed.  "Chloe, like I said a million times in the dressing room, it's sexy without being slutty.  Philip will love it."  
  
Chloe nodded and led Belle down an aisle.  Both of them grabbed a handful of things off the shelf and kept walking.  Chloe was still nervous.  "But is the whole plan too...cliche?"  
  
Belle took something else and shook her head.  "No!  It's so romantic!  Besides, I don't think Philip will be like, 'Chloe, next time you decide to seduce me, can you get a little more creative?'"  
  
Chloe let out a laugh and smacked Belle on the arm.  "Cute."  
  
Belle grinned and tilted her head to the side.  "I thought so."  The girls stopped in front of a display and both took a deep breath.  "There's so many," Belle pointed out, staring at the condoms.  
  
Chloe let her eyes wander over the boxes.  "Um..."  
  
Belle took a box and pushed it in Chloe's face.  "Does Philip like glow-in-the-dark?" she giggled.  
  
"Belle!" Chloe scolded in a whisper before tossing the box back.  Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.  "Belle, someone's going to know I'm buying these."  
  
"Well, we can't steal them."  
  
"They're going to think I'm filming a porn movie," Chloe groaned, pointing at the condoms and then their armful of stuff.  
  
Belle rolled her eyes and took a box of Trojans.  "There.  The number one trusted condom," she said matter-of-factly.  
  
Chloe gulped and the girls made their way to the cashier, who was a forty-ish woman.  "Oh, god, Belle, I can't do this," Chloe protested, blushing at the idea of broadcasting her love life to a stranger.  
  
"What happened to the Chloe that didn't give a poop what people thought about her?" Belle asked.  Chloe instantly laughed at Belle's choice of words and Belle smiled that she was able to get Chloe's mind off of the cashier.  The girls dumped their items on the conveyer belt and Chloe stared at her shoes nervously.  The cashier tiredly rang up her items as Belle waved to two guys from their school an aisle over.  The cashier rolled her eyes when the box of condoms wasn't ringing up.  She grabbed the speakerphone and turned it on, her bored voice filling the store.  "Price Check for Aisle Seven.  Trojan Condoms for Aisle Seven, Price Check."  
  
Belle burst into laughter as Chloe looked up, mortified.  The boys on the other line cracked up as one shouted to his friend, "K-Man's getting some action tonight!"  
  
Chloe's face turned completely red and felt the need to bolt from the store.  She thought she was going to die when an elderly couple behind them began to murmur.  "Young kids today and their premarital sexual relations," the man said disapprovingly to his wife.  
  
Belle tried to stifle her laughter for the sake of Chloe's embarrassment, but the situation was just too much--Chloe Lane, usually able to brush off anything coming her way, couldn't bear a box of condoms.  Belle finally couldn't hold her laughter anymore when a senior from their school who just got a job at the store ran up to the cashier.  
  
"Here's a new box with the barcode," he said, tossing it to the cashier.  He threw a wink in Chloe's direction.  "Have fun," he smirked before running off.  
  
Belle leaned against the counter as her laughter grew louder.  Chloe glared at her friend as she thought her face was going to burn off from embarrassment.  The cashier noticed Chloe's discomfort and patted her hand reassuringly.  "At least you're using protection," she offered, giving Chloe her items and receipt.  Belle cracked up again as Chloe grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the store.  
  
  
Ethan instantly felt nauseous.  He had a feeling he wasn't going to make it out of this place alive.  Brady dropped to his knees next to Heather.  "Heath, baby, wake up," he whispered.    
  
Jason swallowed.  "Brady--"  
  
"What the hell happened to her, Jase?" Brady demanded.  Even though Jason didn't do anything, he backed up a little in fear.  He saw Brady's temper in action before and he didn't want to get in his way.  Ethan quietly tried to slide against the wall to the parking lot, but being in extreme pain didn't help him out too much.  
  
The three others looked down when they heard Heather mumbling.  Brady caressed her cheek with his hand and Heather flinched.  "Don't hurt me," she muttered, her eyes fluttering.  Brady frowned in confusion.  "Who did this?!"  he yelled, looking up.  Brady and Ethan made eye contact and Brady's eyes clouded in anger.  Ethan gulped and Jason took Mimi's arm to move them both aside.  
  
"Gap Boy," Brady fumed.  
  
"I already took care of him," Jason said in vain.  
  
"Not good enough...he's still standing," Brady growled before getting up.  
  
"Brady," Mimi protested.  Between Jason and Brady, Ethan would probably take up permanent residence in the hospital.  She reminded herself of her cellphone and quickly dialed up an ambulance for Heather, just in case...and likely Ethan.  
  
In six quick steps, Brady grabbed Ethan's shirt and slammed him up against the wall.  Ethan yelled out when the back of his head made contact with the building.  
  
"I've been waiting for this day for a long time," Brady muttered.  
  
Ethan wiped the blood from his mouth.  "Because Heather ran to me?  Just because you couldn't satisfy your woman, Black, doesn't mean--"  
  
Brady responded with a hard punch to Ethan's face.  He slammed Ethan up against the wall again.  "I think it would be in your best interest not to talk, Gap Boy."  
  
But Ethan couldn't help and enjoy pissing Brady off after all this time, not aware of what Brady's temper could do.  "That's what I try to tell Heather.  But hitting her always shuts that bitch up."  
  
Ethan felt his stomach drop when Brady's face contorted into an expression of rage he never saw in any person's face before.  "Good to know," he roared.  "I'll be glad to shut **you** the hell up!"  Brady punched Ethan in the face again and then couldn't stop.  His fist grew more powerful with each hit as new blood mixed with old on Ethan's face.  When Ethan began to cry from the pain, Brady pulled Ethan away from the wall.  "Now you know how Heather feels," Brady whispered, punching Ethan in the face again.  Ethan flew to the ground and cried out as pain shot through his body.  He felt like he was going to pass out in seconds.  Ethan blinked away the blood that covering his face and prayed that was the last hit.  
  
Brady approached Ethan again until he heard a familiar voice.  
  
"Brady?" Heather whispered.  
  
He looked over to see Mimi and Jason hovering over Heather.  Brady ran to Heather's side and kneeled next to her.  "I'm here, sweetie.  I'm right here."  
  
Heather's eyes slowly opened and blinked, trying to focus.  "It hurts," she cried, as the side of her head throbbed.  
  
Brady gingerly brushed her hair off of her forehead.  "I know it does.  But I'm here for you.  I'm gonna make you feel better, Heather, I promise."  
  
Heather's vision finally focused on Brady's worried face.  "P-promise," she repeated.  She broke her gaze from Brady's.  "I don't believe in promises anymore."  
  
Heather's words went to straight to Brady's heart as he remembered their one year anniversary.  
  
_"Promise me you'll always be here for me, Brady."  
  
"I promise."  
  
_"Believe in **me**, Heather.  I'm here..." he whispered, thinking back to the night he made his promise.  
  
"You'll just leave again," Heather said softly, her voice shaky with pain.  
  
"I never left you," Brady protested.  
  
"Yes, you did.  You stopped loving me," she said as tears fell down her face.  "You hate Marlena too much to love me."  
  
Brady shook his head desperately.  "Never.  I never stopped loving you."  
  
"I don't want to get hurt again," Heather said, closing her eyes.  
  
"You won't.  I love you, Heather--I need you.  I can't lose you again.  Please...it's always been you.  I'm here," Brady pleaded as sirens wailed in the distance.  
  
Heather opened her eyes and watched a tear fall down Brady's face.  For the first time since they were dating, Heather felt like she was staring into the real Brady Black's eyes.  "You better mean it this time," she said lightly.  Brady smiled as he felt another tear fell down his face.  "I love you, Brady," Heather said softly.  
  
The sirens grew louder as Brady grabbed Heather's hand, knowing he would never let go again.


	14. Parts 35 and 36

**Chapter 35  
**Jason rolled his eyes as Mimi sang along with Bring It On, the movie they were watching together at her house.  Mimi suggested it to get her mind off the night's events with Ethan.  
  
"I said...brr!  It's cold in here!" she shouted.  "There must be some Toros in the at-mos-phere!"  
  
Jason laughed.  "How many times have you watched this dumb movie?"  
  
Mimi gave Jason a look that clearly said 'duh'.  "Well, it's only the best movie ever!"  
  
"Yeah, cheerleader competitions are definitely Oscar-worthy," he said sarcastically.  
  
"Like blowing a building up while shooting aliens with machine guns and using your sudden martial arts skills on creepy men all at the same time is Oscar material?" Mimi asked.  
  
Jason grinned excitedly.  "Awesome!  What movie is that?"  
  
Mimi rubbed Jason's hair affectionally.  "You are seriously dense sometimes," she teased.  
  
Jason bit his lip when Mimi touched him.  He quickly reminded himself not to get his hopes up since it meant nothing.  After they left the Olive Garden with Ethan in one ambulance, and Heather in another as she whined to Brady she didn't need one, Mimi gave Jason a big hug for "coming to her rescue."  Jason remembered that her hair smelled like strawberries and that he didn't want to pull away.  But then Mimi also said the Words-of-a-Slow-and-Painful-Death: "Jason, you're my best friend.  You're like my brother!"  Jason's hopes of asking Mimi out immediately fell apart right there.  He shook his head free of his thoughts and pounced on Mimi, knocking them both back on the couch.    
  
Mimi squealed as Jason tickled her sides.  "I take it back!  I take it back!" she screamed, laughing.  Jason relented and rested his hands over Mimi's shoulders, remaining on top of her. Mimi swallowed nervously.  Lately, she's been feeling things for Jason she never did before. She shook it off...Jason was her friend, nothing more.  He wasn't Mimi's type...she liked romance, candy and flowers...he liked sports, beef jerky and action movies.          
  
Jason stared into her glittering eyes and began to lower his face to kiss her.  Mimi put her hands on Jason's chest.  "Jase," she said softly.  "What are you doing?"  
  
Jason's mind searched for an excuse when they heard keys jingling in the front door.  Jason and Mimi jumped to opposite sides on the couch as Mrs. Lockhart walked in with Connor.  
  
"Hey, Jason!" Mrs. Lockhart said cheerily.  Jason was over their house so often, he was practically a member of the family by then.  Mimi sent Jason a warning glance, hoping he knew it meant not to mention Ethan since her mom would freak and Jason nodded in understanding.  
  
"How you doing, Mrs. L?" Jason grinned.  
  
"Ah, I'm okay," she sighed.  "This little boy is a pain at the toy store."  Mrs. Lockhart said, putting down the shopping bags.    
  
"Jason!" Connor screamed happily as Mimi and her mom shared a smile.  They waited for Jason and the boy to go through their tradition that began on the first day Jason came over.  
  
"Hey, Connor, wanna tell me something?" Jason asked, dropping to his knees in front of the little boy.  Jason put on his best thoughtful face.  "Who is the man?"  Mimi rolled her eyes...if she thought the phrase was worn out before, she knew it wasn't as bad as hearing it every time Jason and Connor said hi to each other.  
  
"You are!" Connor chirped loudly and Mrs. Lockhart chuckled.  
  
"Now, Connor, how can I be the man if **you** are the man?"  
  
"You are the man!" Connor repeated happily, his voice squeaking.  
  
"You are!" Jason shot back with a grin.  
  
"You are!"  
  
"All right, how about we both be the man?"  Connor cheered and Jason laughed.  "Now give me a manly growl!" he demanded before they both bared their teeth and let out growls.  Connor jumped into Jason's arms, who stood up, mock-groaning at Connor's weight, and spun the little boy in circles.  Mrs. Lockhart shook her head and laughed, making her way to the kitchen before patting her hand on Jason's shoulder.  Jason put Connor down and as the boy ran to follow his mom, Jason turned to face Mimi, who had a goofy grin on her face.  
  
"What?" he asked, smiling.  
  
Mimi sighed.  "It's just...you're so great with him," she said after a pause, pulling her hair behind her ear.  
  
"Connor?" Jason asked, looking towards the kitchen.  
  
"Yeah...it's just so..." Mimi stopped and blushed.  
  
"So...what?"  
  
"It's just nice seeing that side of you," Mimi admitted.  "He really loves you, you know."  
  
"For real?" Jason asked, surprised.  
  
"Yeah, he talks about you all at time."  
  
Jason smiled proudly.  "Well, Connor's a good kid," he said, plopping down on the couch.  "I guess I've always gotten along with kids," he shrugged.  
  
Mimi sat down next to Jason.  "I never would have...guessed that.  Are you interested in teaching?"  
  
Jason thought over the idea.  "Yeah, that could be cool."  
  
"You should go to Salem U., then, it's educational program has a really good reputation," Mimi suggested.  
  
Jason looked down at his shoes.  "Uh...well, I don't know about that."  
  
"Why not?" Mimi asked.  "It's a great school."  
  
"Look, Meems, I don't wanna talk about it, all right?" Jason spat.  
  
Mimi widened her eyes and then held up her hands.  "Fine," she said defensively.  Jason looked up at her and sighed.  "I'm sorry, Meems.  It's just I'm sick of hearing about college...my dad talks about it 24/7."    
  
She nodded, deciding not to push.  "So, have you tried out my romance lessons yet?" Mimi asked, changing the subject.  She wondered why she didn't really want to know the answer.  
  
"No, not yet."  
  
Mimi sprung up from the couch.  "Okay!  Pop quiz!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I'm quizzing what you learned."  
  
Jason rose his eyebrows.  "We can give pop quizzes?!  When did this happen?"  
  
Mimi stood in front of him with her hands on her hips.  "It's just been an unspoken--"  
  
Jason grabbed Mimi's hips and she gasped when he pulled her forward onto his lap.  Her knees automatically went to either side of him and her face flew within Jason's.  His breathing grew more shallow and Mimi thought she was going to faint from the wild look in his eyes.  
  
"Jason," she breathed.  Jason closed his eyes--he lived for the way she said his name.  "My mom is right--"  
  
Jason grinned devilishly.  "Pop quiz--living dangerously."  
  
Mimi couldn't even think straight and before she knew it, her lips crashed against Jason's.  When she leaned further into him, Jason groaned against her lips and Mimi tried not to think about what that sound did to her.  Jason slowly ran his hands down the back of her thighs and, grabbing the back of her knees, pushed her even closer to deepen the kiss.  Mimi thought she was going to scream from the feel of Jason's hands so she let her energy out by slipping her tongue in his mouth.  She let her hands slip from Jason's shoulders, down his chest, his stomach and--suddenly, Mimi pulled away, gasping for air.  Mimi couldn't believe she lost control that way and she rolled off Jason's lap.  Jason took a deep breath.  "Wow," he exhaled.  "That was...wow."  
  
Mimi blushed and cleared her throat.  "Well," she said uncomfortably.  "Um..."  
  
"Wanna take a retest?" Jason asked with an expression of mock-innocence.  
  
It took all of Mimi's willpower not to take Jason up on his offer.  Friends, she reminded herself.  Then again, friends don't make out with each other on the couch.  No!  He was just helping her out, that's all.  Guys like Jason didn't want girls like her and there was no point in getting hurt.  "So, your turn," Mimi said, hoping she sounded carefree and breezy.  
  
Jason sighed in defeat and leaned his head back.  "All right, what's my mission?"  
  
"Now, you have this mysterious dream girl, right?" Mimi asked.  
  
"Right," Jason agreed.  "She's...perfect," he said, staring into her eyes.  Mimi didn't notice the look because she was too busy pretending that she wasn't jealous.  
  
"Why don't you ask her out?"  
  
"I'm just a friend to her," Jason said, looking down.  
  
"Well, un-friend yourself.  By...hm...tomorrow night," Mimi decided.  The quicker she'll push him away, the less risk she'd have of falling for him and getting hurt by a guy who doesn't want her.  Friend was the key word here...he obviously didn't want anything more, or else he wouldn't be using her romance lessons to use them on some other girl.  
  
"Um...un-friend...?" Jason asked.  
  
"Well, yeah!  Oh, but, don't just prance up to her asking her to be your girlfriend.  Ooh!  I got it!  Your test is to plan a romantic night for this girl tomorrow night and report to me the next day."  
  
Jason nodded thoughtfully.  "All right...sounds good."  He swallowed.  "What if...she thinks its dumb?"  
  
Mimi threw her hands up in exasperation.  "Trust me, Jase.  This chick won't know what hit her."   
  
  
Chloe nervously paced around her room, wringing her hands together.  She needed something to distract her mind...the alarm clock.  Chloe knew Nancy and Craig wouldn't be home until eight the next morning and she wanted to make sure Philip was gone by then.  Nancy still held a special hatred for Philip because she thought Chloe was too young to be caught up in a serious relationship and was certain Philip was only after one thing.  Also, the chicken-head incident and the bet didn't necessarily make Nancy want to jump for joy that Chloe was dating Philip.  
  
Before Chloe could set the alarm, she heard the familiar sound of pebbles against her window.  _All right, two choices, Chloe.  Open the window and go through with this.  Or do what you feel like doing...go to the bathroom and throw up_, Chloe thought as her nervousness consumed her.  What if Philip thought this was cheesy?  Suddenly, a handful of pebbles hit the window and Chloe laughed at Philip's impatience.  
  
Chloe opened her window and Philip grinned before scrambling up the tree.  Chloe held her hand out to help him in, but Philip tripped into the room.  He knocked Chloe to the floor and he landed on top of her.  "Oops," he teased, putting on his best puppy dog face.  
  
Chloe swatted his shoulder.  "That was not an accident, Philip," she laughed.  
  
Philip kissed her on the forehead.  "It was so!"  
  
"Oh, yeah?  Since when did Salem's star quarterback become clumsy?"  
  
Philip suddenly realized Chloe wasn't wearing much.  She was dressed in a long, white negligee that showed off her tan and all the right curves.  "Since you started wearing stuff like that," Philip grinned.  
  
Chloe blushed as Philip slowly looked up when he realized how dim the room was.  His mouth opened slightly as he stood up in surprise.  Chloe moved over to her desk as Philip took in the sight.  
  
Candles were burning brightly all over the room.  Red, white, pink, long, short.  Each one flickered and shone, filling the room with a dreamy light.  A big posterboard, which was tacked to the wall, had rose petals glued to it and pictures of Chloe and Philip scattered among it.  Pictures from the Last Blast Dance, at dotCom, Bo and Hope's wedding, by their lockers, on dates.  Philip let his eyes wander over the pictures and he grinned at the memories.  He glanced over at the bed and felt his knees go weak.  More red rose petals were carefully placed on Chloe's blindingly white sheets.  Chloe herself had let her hair down, which fell in soft curls among her shoulders.  One of her hands was resting on a nighttable that had a plate of strawberries and a small stereo on it, and another hand was slowly twirling one red rose.  
  
"Chloe," he whispered.  "Is this a dream?"  Philip was mesmerized by the way the candles lit up Chloe's face, making her look like an untouchable goddess.  
  
Chloe softly shook her head and the curls grazed her bare arms.  She reached behind her and turned on the stereo.  Philip swallowed as a deep voice filled the room  
  
_Wise men say only fools rush in...but I can't help falling in love with you._  
  
Philip took a deep breath as he slowly walked towards Chloe.  "I can't believe you did all this," he said gently.  
  
_Wise men say only fools rush in...but I can't help falling in love with you.  
  
_Chloe lightly kissed Philip's lips.  "Sometimes the girl can be the charming white knight," she said with a smile.  
  
_Should I stay?  Would it be a sin if I can't help falling in love with you?  
  
_Philip ran his hand over Chloe's cheek and his eyes were full of concern.  "Are you sure you're ready for this?"  
  
_As a river flows surely to the sea...darling, so it goes...some things are meant to be.  
  
_Chloe met his gaze.  "Look into my eyes, Philip."  He obliged and saw no uncertainty...just love.  
  
_Take my hand...take my whole life, too.  For I can't help falling in love with you.  
  
_Philip looked over at the posterboard and grinned.  "All those pictures..."  
  
Chloe smiled back.  "I wanted to prove to you that I thought this through.  That I know we've been through so much.  And that I'm ready for this."  
  
_As a river flows surely to the sea...darling, so it goes...some things are meant to be.  
  
_Philip cupped Chloe's chin with his hand.  "I love you, Chloe."  
  
Chloe placed her hand over Philip's.  "I love you, too."  
  
Philip gently pressed his lips against Chloe's as she let her hands find their way up his neck and she ran them through his hair.  Chloe felt light as air as Philip deepened their kiss.  Philip's kiss.  It was like listening to opera in her room while rain poured rhythmically outside.  A warm bubble bath after a long day of school.  Falling asleep with the window open and curling up under a bulky blanket.  The feeling of... perfection...comfort...the only and every thing Chloe needed.  
  
_Take my hand...take my whole life, too.  For I can't help falling in love with you.  
  
_Chloe grabbed Philip's shirt collar and slowly pulled him down on the bed with her.  Philip rolled on top of her and pulled away from the kiss to breath.  He kissed her chin and created a trail down her neck and to her collarbone.  "You are so beautiful," Philip murmured against her skin.  "You are so amazing that I can't take it," he continued, bringing his face up to Chloe's again.  "Chloe, you're an angel and I don't know what I'd do without you.  If you're not ready for this, I'd completely understa--"  
  
"Philip?"   
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Shut up," she whispered.  
  
_A river flows surely to the sea...  
  
_Philip grinned and brought his lips down on hers.  He moved his hands down Chloe's silky smooth arms and up again.  Chloe meanwhile broke the kiss to move onto Philip's neck and she slowly unbuttoned his shirt.  
  
_Darling, so it goes...some things are meant to be.  
  
_As she got his shirt off, Philip's hands trailed to Chloe's nightgown straps.  He looked for approval, but Chloe was occupied with kissing Philip's collarbone and unbuckling his belt.  Philip moaned from the feel of Chloe's lips on his skin, and kissed Chloe's shoulder lightly.  He slowly moved the straps of her negligee down and Chloe arched her back to help him slip it off.  
  
_Take my hand..._  
  
Neither able to find words, their lips met again, driven with more passion and love than either could think possible.  
  
_Take my whole life, too.  
  
_Philip pulled away, gasping.  "Are you okay?" he asked gently as Chloe unbuttoned his pants.  
  
_For I can't help falling in love with you...  
  
_Chloe answered by pulling Philip's forehead against hers.  "I want this," she whispered.  
  
_I can't help falling in love with you...  
  
_Philip nodded as he watched Chloe's eyes fill with tears.  Tears of anticipation, love, nervousness, excitement and happiness.  Everything that was pounding in Philip's heart.  
  
_I can't help falling in love with you...  
  
_"I love you," the two said together, before joining in a kiss that was the beginning of a new type of love neither had known before.  
  
_I...can't...help...falling...in..love...with...you  
  
****_Chapter 36  
Heather got up from her seat.  "Let me help you with that, John," she offered, picking up her dinner plate.  
  
"No, no," the man said, taking the plate from her.  "I've got it."  
  
"Are you sure?" Heather asked, reluctantly sitting back down.  
  
"Yes!  You don't need to help with the dishes," John claimed cheerily, picking up the rest of the plates.  "We've really missed having you around here, Heather," John added, cocking an eyebrow.  "And that's a fact."  
  
Brady rolled his eyes at his father as John made his way out of the room whistling.  Heather giggled and shook her head.  "Some things never change."  
  
Brady grinned sheepishly.  "And some things do, huh?"  
  
Heather sighed.  "Brady, I'm tired of talking about this.  We can't expect things to be like exactly like it was in the past," she reminded him...and herself.  "Compromise is key, remember?"  
  
Brady nodded in agreement.  "Heath, you know you're the girl for me when you actually get me to compromise," he joked, rising from his chair.  
  
"So, we've only been back together for a day and I've already got you whipped, huh?" Heather laughed, her eyes twinkling mischievously.  
  
"Hmm...speaking of whips..." Brady growled, moving over to Heather's chair.  
  
"Brady!" Heather yelled as she stood up laughing.  
  
"Oh, come on," Brady protested.  "You gave that one to me!"  
  
Heather quickly grasped Brady in a headlock.  "I'll give you something else, Black!" she teased, starting a noogie on his head.  
  
Brady chuckled and slipped easily from Heather's grasp as John walked in.  "Well, I'm off to pick up Marlena," he said happily, winking at Heather before leaving the penthouse.  
  
"Oh, joy," Brady muttered.  Heather shot him a warning glance and Brady took her hand as he sighed, deciding to change the subject.  
  
"How's your head?" Brady asked, concerned.  
  
"Better," Heather nodded.  She grinned as she remembered the words they shared before the ambulances arrived.  Since then, Brady was treating Heather just like he used to...like his princess.  Of course, it wasn't exactly the same.  But, Heather realized, as long as they were happy, why did things have to be a carbon copy of the past?  
  
"Good," Brady said.  "Hey, Heath.  Listen to that."  
  
"Listen to...what?"  
  
"Absolute...silence," Brady answered, with a wicked grin on his face.  
  
Heather laughed.  "Well, silence in the Black penthouse.  That's a first."  
  
Brady wrapped his arms around Heather's waist.  "Well, then, let's make some noise then," he whispered.  
  
Heather instantly felt lightheaded when she felt Brady's breath against her skin.  "Mom was right...you have sex on the brain, Brady."  
  
"Well, your mom also thinks England and Britain are two different places," Brady muttered, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Something's up with you and mothers," Heather mock-scolded, shaking her head dramatically.  
  
"You're right," Brady murmured.  "Enough talk about moms.  Enough talk, period."  Heather smiled and eagerly found Brady's lips with hers.  Brady felt his heart pound...the kisses since Heather and him were back together were more intense than any they had ever shared.  Each seemed more meaningful than the one before and Brady wanted to know just what that meaning was.  
  
The phone rang and the couple reluctantly pulled away.  Brady sighed and as he went to answer it, a catalog Marlena had left on the table caught his eye.  Brady furrowed his brow.  Could it be...a sign?  He shook his head.  No, definitely not.    
  
"Um...no, I'm sorry, Belle's at Salem Place," Brady said, distracted.  He just couldn't get the pictures on the catalog's cover out of his mind.  
  
  
Belle put the red dress back on the rack and tilted her head back.  Her stomach was urging her to get to the pub, but her hands couldn't stop shopping.  
  
"Hey, Belle!"  
  
Belle looked up to see Sam smiling happily at her.  
  
"Hey, Sam," Belle said, forcing a smile on her face.  
  
"How are you?" Sam asked.  Belle swallowed nervously when she saw that Sam was wearing a leather jacket and had gelled his hair.  
  
"That's a...new look," Belle mumbled.  
  
"I knew you would like it, Belle," Sam grinned.  Belle felt chills go down her back.  The usual nervous, awkward voice of his was gone and a cocky, cold one replaced it.  
  
"Sam, what's going on?" she blurted out.  
  
"Well...I just thought this was the sort of guy you liked," Sam said softly, shifting his feet uncomfortably.  "You know, the rebel kind of thing."  
  
Belle sighed.  "Sam, I like Shawn because he's Shawn...not because he's a James Dean wannabe," Belle said gently.  Sam looked down and Belle decided she had to bring up the call before it drove her crazy.  "And there's no way a guy I like would call my cell phone and freak me out," Belle added with an edge to her tone.  Sure, she told Shawn it was probably just a prank, but it still scared her deep down.  
  
Sam looked up and gulped nervously.  "B-Belle...I just wanted to talk to you," he pleaded.  
  
"Really?  It sounded more like creepy breathing and a threat to my boyfriend," she countered.  "Not exactly a fun filled conversation, Sam," she said, losing the edge to her tone as she grew more ready to listen what was going on with Sam.  
  
Sam was about to respond but looked over Belle's shoulder and his eyes clouded with fear.  Sam bolted from the store and Belle turned around in confusion.  
  
"Shawn!"  
  
"Who was that?" he asked as he sipped on a Slurpee, nodding towards the retreating figure.  
  
Belle shrugged.  "Just some...salesperson," she offered hopefully.  Shawn handed her his Slurpee and she took a long sip.  
  
"Must not be a very good one if he got scared away by a customer," Shawn said in suspicion, tilting his head to the side.  
  
Belle looked away from him and sighed.  "Shawn, just don't get all Rambo on me, okay?" She asked, giving him back the Slurpee.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"It was Sam," Belle squeaked out.  
  
Shawn stared at her blankly and Belle rolled her eyes when she saw him grip the Slurpee tighter.  "Shawn...chill okay?" she chirped.  "No biggie.  Let's go shopping...I won't even get mad when you complain all day--"  
  
"Did he try anything with you?" Shawn asked tensely.  
  
"Shawn, stop.  It's just a crush, you're making this bigger than it is."  
  
"I'm going to punch that kid right in the face," Shawn growled.  
  
Belle's eyebrows rose.  "Taking this a little too far, Brady?  I can take care of myself."  
  
"Well, you don't seem to be doing much to stop all this," Shawn shot back.  
  
"Stop all what?  Shawn, you are so overreacting!  I'm just being nice to him!"  
  
Shawn rolled his eyes.  "Belle, you don't have to be nice to every single person in the world.  Didn't you get the memo that you weren't Mother Teresa?"  
  
"I'll be nice to who I want to be nice to!" Belle said angrily.  "Sam's just lonely and I'm offering my friendship.  So, he might have some crush on me and doesn't know how to act.  So, he made a prank call.  Big deal, he'll get over it!" Belle spat, trying to convince Shawn as well as herself.  
  
Shawn crossed his arms skeptically.  "Okay...you're telling me Sam doesn't creep you out, then?"  
  
Belle cleared her throat and spun around to look through the rack again.  Shawn sighed and turned Belle gently by the shoulders to face him.  "Truth, Belle."  
  
"Fine...so he kinda makes me nervous."  Shawn opened his mouth and Belle continued before he could interrupt.  "But!  It's just because it's weird seeing someone so reserved become so forward, especially when it's directed towards me."  Shawn opened his mouth again and Belle quickly planted a kiss on him.  "Don't worry about it, baby, okay?" she said slowly.  Shawn reluctantly nodded and Belle smiled in response.  "Now, you get to help me decide if I should get the blue halter or the yellow tank top!" Belle said cheerily.  
  
Shawn groaned.  "Can't wait," he said with a grin.  Belle lightly smacked his shoulder before bounding over to the sales rack.  Shawn tried to smile as he watched her hands zip through the hangers, but Sam stayed implanted in his mind.  Despite what Belle said, Shawn knew something was up with that guy.  Shawn felt chills go down his back when he thought he saw Sam near the doors in the corner of his eye.  But when Shawn looked again, Sam was walking quickly away from the entrance of the store.  
  
  
"Good morning, beautiful."  
  
Chloe slowly fluttered her eyes open to see Philip's dimples.  Oh, what a way to wake up in the morning.  
  
Philip gently brushed Chloe's hair back off of her forehead.  "Sleep okay?"  
  
Chloe's memory was instantly flooded with images from last night.  Her perfect night.  "Definitely," she whispered, as she snuggled closer into Philip's arms.  
  
"I could get used to this," Philip murmured into her hair.  "How about we do this every night and I wake up with you in my arms every morning?" he suggested, grinning.  
  
Before Chloe could even respond, her bedroom door swung open.  
  
"Good mor--**what the hell is going on here**?!"  
  



	15. Parts 37, 38 and 39

**Chapter 37  
**"What the hell is going on here?" Nancy repeated shrilly.  
  
Philip and Chloe just stared at her in shock...was this really happening?  
  
"Answer me!" Nancy screamed.  Finally, the woman gave Philip a glare that could kill before running from the room.  "Craig!  Craig!"  
  
"Shit," Philip muttered, quickly pulling on his clothes.  How come he felt like he'll be missing a certain essential body part by the time Craig was through with him?  Meanwhile, Chloe frantically slipped her nightgown on...she wished she just remembered to set her alarm.  Nancy hated Philip with a passion...who knows what was about to happen?  
  
The two looked at each other nervously when they heard Nancy and Craig, their executioners, stomp towards the room.  Craig walked in first and without pausing or saying a word, blindly threw a punch in Philip's direction.  Philip quickly ducked and Craig grabbed the front of Philip's shirt, fueled with anger.  Nancy crossed her arms in satisfaction as Craig slammed Philip against Chloe's dresser.  
  
"Craig!" Chloe screamed, jumping from her bed.  
  
"Don't worry, Chloe," Nancy said lowly.  "Craig will take care of him."  
  
Philip closed his eyes...seeing nothing was a lot better than seeing the rage in Craig's expression.  
  
"Don't blame Philip!" Chloe cried out, with desperation breaking her voice.  "I planned this, I invited him over!  This was my fault, not his!"  
  
Nancy walked closer to Chloe.  "Oh, don't you fret, young lady.  We'll deal with you later."  She turned to Craig, who continued to just stare at the pinned Philip angrily.  
  
Finally, a low growl erupted from Craig's throat.  "I think I'm going to kill you now, Kiriakis."  
  
Philip just swallowed and prayed a meteor would hit the house.  At least his death would be quick and easy then.  
  
Chloe pulled Craig's arm back as he began to make a fist.  "Craig, don't!"   
  
"Get off of me, Chloe," he warned.  
  
"No!  I'm not going to let you hurt him!"  
  
Craig continued to glare at Philip.  He didn't want to hurt Chloe, who didn't let go of her tight grip on his arm, but the thought of that bastard in bed with Chloe in **his** house made him lose all control.  "Give me one good reason not to rip his head off," Craig sneered.  
  
"I love him!" Chloe screamed.  
  
Silence filled the room and Philip reluctantly opened his eyes, not sure if this announcement was going to make things worse.  Or maybe Craig would let him go and pat him on the back while shaking his hand.  And Nancy would give him a big hug and invite him to dinner.  
  
"WHAT?" Nancy shouted.  
  
Or...maybe not.  
  
Chloe stomped over to Nancy.  "I love him," she repeated through clenched teeth.  "I am in love with Philip Kiriakis!" she said louder, getting satisfaction from Nancy's shocked face.  
  
"You're only seventeen, you don't know what love is," Nancy said shakily.  
  
"Oh, and you do?" Chloe shot back, still holding on to Craig's arm, afraid it could meet up with Philip's face any minute now.  "What's love to you, Nancy?  Abandoning someone at birth?"  
  
"Don't bring this back on me, this has **nothing** to do with me!" Nancy said tensely.  
  
"Enough!" Craig yelled.  He looked Philip straight in the eye and the boy winced in anticipation.  
  
"Please, Craig," Chloe pleaded.  "Don't."  
  
Craig looked into Chloe's eyes, full of guilt and desperation.  He sighed and pushed Philip a little harder against the dresser.  "Get out of my house, you ungrateful asshole," Craig spat.  He released Philip's shirt and turned his back to him, instantly regretting not bashing his face in.  "NOW!" he thundered.  Craig knew if it wasn't for Chloe, who he loved as his own, and her pleas, Philip would be nursing a broken nose right about now.  
  
Philip silently obliged, avoiding Chloe's heartbreaking gaze.  He looked up to see Nancy blocking the doorway.  
  
"You're lucky you're alive, you little punk," she said.  Philip moved past Nancy without a word and left the room, resisting the urge to look back at Chloe.  
  
Craig glanced over to Chloe, who had wrapped her arms around herself.  She stared blankly at the floor and Craig reached for her arm.  Chloe flinched and stepped away.  "Don't touch me," she said, almost inaudibly, not moving her eyes from the floor.  
  
"Oh, don't be mad at **me**, young lady.  This morning could have been a lot worse for Philip, but I didn't do it because I knew you'd be crushed.  I shouldn't have thought twice about it though, Chloe," Craig pointed out, his voice rising again.  "You were the one who snuck behind our backs while we trusted you alone, and had sex in our house with some boy!"  
  
"He's not just some boy!" Chloe protested.  
  
"You're right, Chloe, he's not," Nancy replied, her voice steady and cool.  "He's a user, a spoiled brat.  He's someone just out to hurt you.  That's why, dear, you will never see Philip Kirikias again."  
  
  
Connor dropped his breakfast fork and ran to the door.  "Who is it?" he shouted.  
  
"It's Jason."  The boy eagerly swung the door open.  "Connor, I need your help."  
  
  
Mimi slipped her keys in the lock, sighing with frustration.  As soon as she had woken up, she had driven over to Salem Place, trying to get Jason out of her mind.  Unfortunately, she couldn't stop thinking about him.  She hated herself for it...why couldn't she just be friends with a guy without falling for him?  Mimi smirked reassuringly to herself...that's why this was perfect.  Jason was probably with his girl soon enough and if he wasn't single, Mimi wouldn't fall even more for him.  Hopefully.  Mimi flung open the door to find darkness and she flipped the lights on.  
  
"Mom?" she called.  Silence.  "Connor?"  
  
Perfect.  More alone time to mope about Jason.  Mimi threw her keys on the entry table.  She slowly slipped off her jacket as she stared at a folded piece of paper on the table.  In Connor's handwriting, it said, "Read Me."  
  
Mimi grinned.  Connor always did cute little scavenger hunts like this.  She opened the paper to read a poem.  
  
_A dog will always answer to her name,  
So why don't you call over Fame?  
  
_Mimi frowned...since when did Connor learn to rhyme?  She shrugged and shouted for Fame.  A dopey golden retriever into the room with its tail wagging.  "Hey, Fame!" Mimi cooed, dropping to her knees.  Fame's ears perked and bolted into Mimi's arms.  She laughed loudly, but instantly shut up when she saw what was attached to his collar.  
  
Mimi pulled out the large sunflower and giggled when she saw that Fame had nibbled on one of the petals.  Thinking it over, Mimi furrowed her brow.  Where did Connor get this flower, and why was he giving it to her?  Mimi pulled a piece of paper off the stem.  
  
_Congratulations, you found it!  Like the sunflower?  Want more?  
Haven't you seen it yet?  Look at the door!  
  
_What the hell was going on?  She knew Connor couldn't spell congratulations, let alone know the difference between a sunflower and a tulip.  Mimi spun aroun to face the closed front door.  
  
One pale pink rose was taped to the center of the door along with another note.  Mimi yelled out in frustration, and snatched the flower and the paper.  What was her brother up to?  
  
_So, I bet you're confused...but now you've got two!  
By the way, there's something in the fridge for you!  
  
_Mimi threw the note down...she knew Connor was writing these "poems" for someone.  Suddenly, she realized it could be their father!  He had been gone on a business trip for his new job and he must have been back a day early!  Her dad must have made Connor write these notes to keep his arrival a secret.    
  
Mimi smirked triumphantly and ran to the kitchen, throwing open the refrigeator.  A daisy sat upon a container of butter.  She eagerly grabbed the flower and the paper.  
  
_You make me melt like butter  
You send my heart a-flutter,  
If you don't know by now who cares,  
Maybe you should go upstairs!  
  
_Mimi tapped the daisy gently against the palm of her hand, biting her bottom lip.  She guessed that certain one was meant for her mother but decided to make the trip up anyway.  She couldn't wait to see her father.  
  
Mimi ran to the stairs and gasped softly when she saw a trail of baby's breath going up the steps.  She tore a note off of the railing.  
  
_All right, now, let's pick up the pace  
I can't wait to see your beautiful face!  
  
_Looking happily at her diverse gathering of flowers, Mimi laughed.  She knew it was her father now, since he nicknamed her "Beautiful" since birth.  Mimi ran up the stairs, taking two at a time.  
  
Another note layed on the top of the steps with a red carnation placed over it.  Mimi scooped up her newest additions to her collection and scanned the words on the paper.  
  
_All right, Mimi, I can't wait anymore,  
Now it's time to open your door.  
  
_Mimi grinned and placed her hand on the doorknob, turning it slowly.  She heard the soft click and swung her bedroom door open.  
  
**Chapter 38**  
Belle slammed her locker shut, looking around the hallway. Mimi, Jason, Philip and Chloe all weren't in their morning meeting spot. Well, she knew that Chloe and Philip would be skipping...she guessed their night went well. But where were Jason and Mimi?  
  
Two hands clamped themselves over Belle's eyes. "Guess who?" said a low mutter. Belle grinned and turned around quickly. Her smile faded when she saw it wasn't Shawn.  
  
"Sam."  
  
"Hi, Belle," Sam smiled happily.  
  
"How are you?" Belle said, darting her eyes over Sam's shoulder. For some reason, a nervous pit in her stomach was growing and she wished anyone would interrupt them.  
  
"I can't wait until tomorrow."  
  
"That's nice. What's tomorrow?" Belle asked.  
  
"Our first date," Sam said cheerily.  
  
Belle met Sam's eyes in shock and backed up against her locker, hugging her books to her chest. "I-I don't know what..."  
  
"Are you okay, Belle?" Sam asked, concerned.  
  
"F-first date...?" Belle said in a daze.  
  
"Yeah! I thought it'd be nice to take you out. Besides, let's face it, we both know we're going to end up together eventually," Sam said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Sam. I have a boyfriend," Belle pointed out gently. "Who I love...very much."  
  
"Shawn?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows skeptically. "Belle, forget about him. We're...we're soulmates," Sam said desperately. Belle looked down nervously to see Sam's hands shaking. Okay, now she was officially freaked.  
  
"I have to go," Belle whispered shakily, moving past Sam.  
  
"Don't go, Belle," Sam pleaded, his eyes widening. "I love you."  
  
Belle whipped around angrily. "Sam, please, stop! You don't even know me!" She just wanted to get to class, away from him.  
  
"Give me the chance to get to know you," Sam's eyes remained on Belle's face in a steady gaze. "Ever since the first time I saw you, Belle, I knew--"  
  
"Stop!" Belle shouted frantically as tears welled up. He was really scaring her now.  
  
Sam's expression grew anxious. "Come on, Belle. I dare you to tell me you don't love me."  
  
"Fine! Is that what you need? I don't love you! I love Shawn!" Belle yelled as a few tears fell down her face. Sam's face immediately crumpled up in pain and Belle took a cautious step towards him. "Sam," she said more gently. "Sam, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that, it's just--"  
  
"We can't live without each other," Sam muttered coldly before rushing down the hallway. Belle's face went pale...this was just going too far. A hand grabbed Belle's lower arm and she jumped.  
  
"Belle? It's me! Are you ok?"  
  
"Shawn..." Belle took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. Shawn grabbed Belle's shoulder and ducked a little to meet eye-to-eye with her. "Sweetie, what's wrong? What happened?"  
  
Belle just shook her head. "Don't w-worry about it," she stammered.  
  
"Belle, you look like you've seen a ghost. Please, just let me know if you're going to be okay," Shawn's reassuring voice gradually set Belle at ease.  
  
"Shawn...it's Sam." Shawn's face tensed but he remained quiet. "He-he told me he...loved me," Belle said, almost in shame. Was she too nice to Sam? Did she lead him on? Where did he get the idea that he was in love with her?  
  
"What?" Shawn spat out, straightening up. His eyes quickly scanned the hallway, but Sam was gone.  
  
"I told him I love you," Belle rushed on. "But he didn't give up. He told me that we couldn't live without each other and then he left."  
  
Shawn's expression went from anger to concern. "He said that?" Belle nodded slowly. "Belle...did it sound like a threat?" Belle's eyes welled up with tears again and she ran one hand through her hair, avoiding Shawn's gaze. "Belle, talk to me. Did it?" Belle nodded again as a single tear ran down her cheek. Shawn immediately wrapped Belle in a protective hug, stroking her hair as she tried to fight back more tears.  
  
"It's ok, Belle," he whispered. "It'll all be okay."  
  
  
Mimi swung her door open to find complete darkness. "Dad?" she called. Silence. Mimi frowned...her light switch wasn't working recently so she had to turn on the lamps manually. Of course, in order to do that, she had to actually see the lamps.  
  
Mimi furrowed her brow when she heard the sound of a match being lit. She watched, mesmerized, as candles around the room gained bright flames. With each candle, being lit, Mimi saw more and more. She heard footsteps head towards the darkest spot as she gazed around her room. Violets were wrapped around her bedposts and scattered on her mattress. All different kinds of flowers littered her floor, were attached to her wall and even to her ceiling. She giggled at her dad's attempt to hide the tape that accomplished some of the decorating. Mimi watched with interest as the darkest spot of the room lit up with more candles. She gasped and brought her hand to her mouth when she saw him.  
  
Jason was wearing black pants, a light blue button-up shirt and a silk tie that matched the shirt exactly. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing off perfect arms. Mimi swallowed...it was surprising enough to see him, but to see him dressed up like that...she couldn't even blink.  
  
A nervous grin was frozen on Jason's face. A shaky hand slowly picked a daisy off of the table and began plucking off petals.   
  
Mimi's mind frantically searched for explanations. He needs more tips for his date. He got lost and magically ended up here. But she knew her excuses were false. The notes, the scavenger hunt, the flowers. Him. Dressed like that, in her room. Next step? Say something. That's right, you open your mouth and something really cool and sophisticated comes out. Ready, Mimi? Go.  
  
"Uh..."  
  
Dammit.  
  
Jason took control anyway...his low voice filled the room as he continued to pull off the petals. "She loves me...she loves me not." Mimi looked into his eyes and thought back to the past months. All those signs that went over her head.  
  
_"Come on, Meems. You didn't feel it? Because I sure did."_  
  
Jason began to slowly approach Mimi, who gulped nervously. "She loves me...she loves me not."  
  
_"Because I want a lot of things...and I always get what I want."_  
  
"She loves me...she loves me not."  
  
_"Well, um, angelhair pasta is perfect for...an angel like you."_  
  
"She loves me...she loves me not."  
  
_"Yes, I do have a beautiful date here. Why don't you just look through some more J.Crew catalogs so we can get back to it?"_  
  
Mimi widened her eyes as she realized...all this time. He was after her all this time.  
  
Jason reached Mimi and they both looked down at the daisy, which had one petal left. Before she even knew what she was doing, Mimi reached out and pulled the last petal off of the flower.  
  
"She loves you."  
  
  
"Happy 21st Birthday," Brady grinned.  
  
Heather smiled and fell back on her couch, joining Brady. "I can't wait to party!" she yelled.  
  
"Well, expect one hell of a party for you at Luke's. And I expect the same when I turn 21," Brady said smiling.  
  
"Deal," Heather nodded.  
  
Brady swallowed. "Hey...um...I still need to give you my present."  
  
Heather's eyes immediately lit up. "Hey! Present!"  
  
Brady laughed and turned to face Heather. "Heath, I love you. You know that. And maybe we haven't been back together long, but technically, we've loved each other for years. And since the first time I met you, I couldn't stop thinking about you. You...you've done so much for me, Heather. God knows where'd I be now if it wasn't for you."  
  
Heather wrinkled her forehead in confusion. "Brady, not that this isn't sweet and all, but...why...?"  
  
Brady held up a hand and shifted in his seat. "Wait. Just...let me finish. I can't survive without you, Heather. I need you in my life...forever."  
  
Heather looked up in surprise. "I-I don't understand..."  
  
Brady gave a nervous half-smile and took a deep breath. Heather gasped when Brady dropped to the floor on one knee. He removed a small velvet box from his pocket and slowly opened it to reveal a breathtaking ring.  
  
"Heather Walker...will you marry me?"  
  
**Chapter 39**  
"Excuse me?" Chloe asked slowly.  
  
"Oh, you heard me loud and clear, Chloe. You are never going to see Philip Kiriakis again," Nancy said smugly.  
  
"Y-you can't do that! It's not--Craig, tell her she can't do this to me!" Chloe shouted frantically. Craig stared blankly at her. "Craig!"  
  
"Chloe, you did something wrong--"  
  
"So take away my TV or something! You can't tell me who to date, I'm a junior in high school, not a third grader!" Chloe spat.  
  
"Chloe," Nancy said calmly. "This is for your own good. Philip is a bad influence on you, he made you have sex with him in your own bed."  
  
Chloe stared at Nancy in a disgusted shock. "Made...me? He didn't make me do anything! I planned this, I asked Philip to make love to me!"  
  
Craig sat down in Chloe's chair and put his head in his hands. Nancy scoffed at Chloe's statement. "Made love?" she repeated sarcastically. "I doubt that boy loved anything about it."  
  
"What are you--"  
  
"Don't you see it, Chloe? That boy is using you! What, he makes fun of you for months and all of a sudden he's in love with you? What that boy saw was sex...he doesn't love anything but money," Nancy said steadily.  
  
"Shut...up. SHUT UP!" Chloe screamed. "Philip and I are in love, Nancy, no matter how much you don't want us to be! You cannot stop me from seeing him. I'll see him in school, I'll see him after school, I'll see him every goddamn day and you can't stop me!" Chloe yelled triumphantly.  
  
"School's over in a week," Nancy pointed out. "And you won't be here this summer."  
  
"What...?"  
  
"Nancy," Craig warned, muffled from his hands.  
  
"Craig and I were thinking of bringing you with us to Maine to visit your grandparents this summer. But we knew how much you'd bitch about being away from that boy, so we decided against it...for you!" Nancy said, rolling her eyes. "But, as of now, I don't care. You are coming with us for the entire summer." Chloe shook her head defiantly but Nancy continued. "There's a nice boy who lives next door to your grandparents who would love to meet you. He can help you get over Philip."  
  
"Stop it!" Chloe screeched. "I'm not going to need to get over Philip because I'm not breaking up with him. Craig!" Chloe said desperately. "Please. Tell her! You know I love him...you know!"  
  
Craig remained silent and didn't move an inch. Nancy smiled proudly. "Chloe, all three of us know what you did was wrong. You deliberately took advantage of us and used our house to have sex with a boy we don't even like! That is complete and utter disrespect. Now, you need to be punished. And the best thing to do is keep you away from that boy."  
  
"He has a name!"  
  
"Of course," Nancy continued, ignoring her. "You'll see him in school, but there's only so much you two can do in class. So, for the next week, you will not see Philip out of school. I forbid it, Chloe. If you are not at this house every day right after your last class, you will regret it. Then, when school is over, we'll all go to Maine and you will not mope and you will meet that neighbor boy and you will forget Philip Kiriakis," Nancy concluded. Before Chloe could respond, Nancy stormed out of the room.  
  
Chloe let her tears of frustration and disbelief fall down her face. She felt like her whole entire body was shaking. This was really happening...she hated her mother. Chloe hated the fact that Nancy just couldn't let her be happy. She slowly turned to Craig, who still in the same position in Chloe's chair. "I will never forgive either of you for this," Chloe swore vehemently before walking defiantly to her bathroom, slamming the door behind her.  
  
Craig let out a shaky breath and lifted his head, tilting it back. He has never been more confused. Chloe hated Kiriakis and Chloe deserved to be punished but...  
  
"I know, Chloe," he whispered. "I know you love him."  
  
  
Heather should have felt the tears streaming down her face, but her whole body was numb with shock.  
  
"Will you marry me?" Brady repeated, lifting the small velvet box a little higher.  
  
Heather stood up and turned her back to Brady. "Brady, I...I don't know what to..."  
  
"What to say?" Brady grinned. "Just say yes. That you'll marry me, that we can be together forever. Just one simple word, Heather. Just say--"  
  
"No," Heather blurted out.  
  
Brady looked up in surprise. "Wrong word there, Heather," he joked, hoping Heather was just playing with him.  
  
Heather turned around to face Brady. "I can't marry you, Brady."  
  
He stood up and threw the velvet box down on Heather's couch, his temper coming through. "Can't? Why not? It's not like you're allegeric to marriage or something!"  
  
"Fine! It's not because I can't, it's because I don't want to!" Heather yelled.  
  
  
Belle sighed at the sound of the knock and adjusted her shirt. "Come in, Shawn!" she shouted from the balcony. He promised he'd be over after talking to his coach and he was right on time. No one came in and Belle rolled her eyes, stomping to the front door. "You know, laziness is not a virtue, Bra--" Belle stopped in the middle of her sentence when she saw Sam grinning and proudly holding a bouquet of roses.  
  
Belle swallowed nervously and tried to block the doorway with her small body. "Sam. What are you doing here?"  
  
"I asked one of the football players where you live. I wanted to see you," Sam responded, holding out the roses.  
  
Belle shook her head. "Sam, this has to stop. Right now."  
  
"What has to stop?" Sam asked, confusion spreading across his face.  
  
"Please," Belle pleaded, suddenly wishing she wasn't home alone after all. "Just--just leave me alone."  
  
"I...I don't understand," Sam said, his eyes flashing. "I thought...I thought you liked me."  
  
"Sam, it's not that I don't like you as a friend. But I'm with Shawn now, and there's where I want to stay," Belle said as gently as possible.  
  
"You're wrong, Belle. You're just confused, that's all," Sam answered desperately. "I've watched you since middle school, Belle." Her eyes widened as he continued. "The way your hair does that cute curly thing when you don't straighten it. Your beautiful blue eyes. Everything. I love everything about you. Shawn had his chance, and it's not fair! You belong with me!" Sam said, his voice rising. Belle gulped when she saw that Sam's hand was tightening around the bouquet, crushing the flowers.  
  
"Sam," Belle whispered. "Maybe you should go."  
  
"No. No, I'm not going anywhere. You can't do this to me, Belle. I've worked up the nerve to tell you I love you for years and you can't ruin it!" Sam yelled, pushing past Belle to enter the penthouse. Belle felt her stomach knot with fear and she closed the front door behind her, nearing the phone.  
  
"Sam, if you don't leave right now, I'm calling the police," she threatened, her voice shaking.  
  
"Isabella Black," Sam said staring out to the balcony, not hearing her. "Such a beautiful name."  
  
Belle picked up the receiver. "I'm not kidding, Sam, I will! I'll get a restraining order. But if you just leave, we can forget about everything and both of us can move on!"  
  
Sam turned around slowly to face Belle and she dropped the receiver when she saw him. His eyes were dark and cold, and his face was tearstained.   
  
"I can't move on, Belle," he whispered. "I've loved you for years. But you don't love me, do you?"  
  
Belle slowly shook her head, trying not to show her happiness that it was finally getting through to him. "But...I really want to be your friend, Sam."  
  
Sam laughed bitterly. "Let's just be friends, huh? It's not me, it's you?" Sam looked down at the ruined bouquet and picked a bent rose from the bunch. "Belle, it's not like I'm an unpopular guy...just a little quiet in school. Pretty average. And I thought, for years, why would Belle Black want to be with an average guy? But this year, I saw how you weren't superficial like some of the other kids in the A-Group and I thought, great. Break out of your shell, Sam, and just ask her. And I did, and it looks like I was wrong. You're a shallow bitch, Belle, just like the rest of them," Sam said, his voice steady with anger.  
  
Belle backed up against the wall and closed her eyes. Where was Shawn? She slowly opened one eye and stared at the phone and the door. By now, she was closer to the phone than to the door. The door ensured an easier escape, but he could catch her if he was planning on something.  
  
"You know, I heard you talking to those cheerleaders...their names...oh, Sariah, Christyne and Aimee, in class one day. About that Ethan kid that hit Mimi and that other girl. And you were saying you wouldn't know what to do if that happened to you," Sam said thoughtfully, twirling the broken rose between his fingers.  
  
Belle shook her head in fear. "Sam...please..."  
  
"I bet those girls deserved it. They led that guy on and when it came down to it, they wanted someone else. Mimi went for Jason, and that other chick went for your brother. They went for A Group people, because that's all that matters to that type of girl. I never thought you'd be that type, but you are," Sam said, staring the rose. The ruined rose, just like his ruined Belle.  
  
"So, what are you saying? That I deserve to be hit?" Belle challenged bravely, eyeing the phone from the corner of her eye.  
  
Sam looked up. "No. No, but I'm giving you an ultimatum," he said, dramatically swinging the bouquet in front of him. Belle thought she saw a flash of silver inside, but she was too scared to think about it.  
  
"Ultimatum?" Belle repeated absently, inching closer to the phone.  
  
Sam lunged forward and Belle cried out, rushing for the phone. Sam reached her first and pushed himself against her, slamming her up against the wall. Belle screamed and Sam pushed her onto the floor, landing on top of her. Belle struggled beneath him out of sheer panic. She never thought something like this would happen to her. She had a perfect life and never had to deal with someone like Sam before. Belle just never thought someone like him could be calmly walking through the halls or taking notes without showing signs of violence.  
  
"This is the deal, Belle," Sam said, whispering in her ear. Belle wrinkled her face in disgust at the feel of his breath against her skin. "You call up Shawn right now and break him up with him, no explanations."  
  
Belle's vision blurred with tears when Sam reached above him to the bouquet and pulled out a knife.  
  
"And if you do, I don't hurt you."  
  



	16. Parts 40 and 41

Chapter 40  
"Wow, Heather, you sure know how to deflate a guy's ego," Brady said bitterly.  
  
"Brady, we've only been back together for a day! You can't just go around proposing marriage whenever you feel like it!" Heather shouted, exasperated.  
  
"Did you not listen to my speech?! The whole loving you for years thing?!" Brady yelled back.  
  
"But it's different now," she pointed out. "We have to get used to being together again. Things changed and we need to adapt to that, you know?"  
  
"And how long will that take?" Brady asked, crossing his arms impatiently.  
  
Heather rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Brady, on the second Thursday of next month at exactly 5:23 p.m. and 12 seconds, I'll be used to you again," she answered sarcastically. Brady stared at her blankly. "Brady, how the hell am I supposed to know how long it will take?!"  
  
"Well, you're the one setting all these rules! Who cares how long we've been back together? I told you, I've loved you for years. Besides, I'm not asking you to marry me tomorrow. Just getting engaged."  
  
"Just...getting...?" Heather repeated.  
  
"That's not how I meant it," Brady sighed. "Heather, look, the bottom line is that I'm in love with you," he said gently. "You've been the only woman I love. I mean, you're the only one who made me realize how important life is. Heather, you changed my life for the better, more than once. I can't lose that. And I want to take the next step to make sure we'll be together forever," Brady said as Heather looked down, biting her lip. He was really serious about this...Brady Black was being loving, honest and...serious. She slowly picked the ring off of the couch and gave it back to Brady. Heather swallowed as Brady dropped down to one knee again. He slipped the ring on her left hand.  
  
"Heather...will you marry me? Please."  
  
Heather tried to fight back her grin but just let out an excited laugh and nodded. "Yes!" she shouted, throwing her arms around Brady's neck. At first, she wasn't sure if Brady could ever handle something so serious as marriage. But, she was willing to let him prove himself. Brady laughed and spun Heather around in circles. When he put her down, Heather gazed at her ring, which glistened as a fresh tear fell on top of it.   
  
"Um...I know it isn't anything fancy or..." Brady started, noticing her staring at it.  
  
"It's the most beautiful thing in the world," Heather said softly.  
  
  
"Hello?" Philip breathed after diving for his phone.  
  
"I am so sorry," a voice rushed out.  
  
"Chloe," Philip sighed. "It's not your fault."  
  
"Yes, it is!" she whispered. "I never should have invited you over!"  
  
Philip cleared his throat. "Do--do you regret...what we did?"  
  
Chloe shook her head and then realized Philip couldn't see her. "No, not at all. But I regret not getting you out the next morning."  
  
"Yeah, so do I," Philip muttered.  
  
"But you're not mad?" she whispered.  
  
"No, of course not. But, um, why are you whispering?" Philip asked, furrowing his brow.  
  
Chloe looked over her shoulder to her closed door. Craig and Nancy were probably pacing outside her room, ready to bust in if they heard Philip return to the scene of the crime. "If Nancy and Craig heard me talking to you, they'd probably lock me up in jail," Chloe answered softly.  
  
"That mad, huh?" Philip sighed, disappointed. He wondered how long it would be before he could see Chloe again. A couple of weeks, maybe.  
  
"Worse than mad," Chloe responded.  
  
"Well, what's the punishment?" Philip asked, leaning against his desk.  
  
Fast and simple, Chloe reminded herself. "I can't see you after school for the last week."  
  
"Oh. Well, I mean, of course it sucks, but it's better than what I thought it--"  
  
"And they're taking me to Maine for the summer."  
  
Philip jumped from his desk. "For the entire summer?!"  
  
"Yeah, the whole crappy summer," Chloe said quietly.   
  
"Well, I'll just go to Maine, too! My dad will pay for it," Philip decided triumphantly.  
  
"Philip, I'm going to be attached to Nancy 24/7. She's not going to let me out of her sight. There is no way it would work. Besides, if Craig saw you there, you might not get back to Salem for your senior year alive," she pointed out.  
  
"This sucks," Philip moaned. "I hate this!"  
  
"I know," Chloe whispered. "Me, too."  
  
"Chloe!" Nancy's voice rang out. "Come on, I'm taking you to lunch! Get out here NOW!"  
  
"BE RIGHT THERE!" Chloe screamed with an edge to her tone. "Nancy is forcing quality time on me now."  
  
"More like Convince Chloe That Philip Is Evil time," Philip said bitterly.  
  
"Well, I'm not talking to her. I hate her more than ever," Chloe decided.  
  
"NOW, CHLOE!" Nancy shouted, pounding on her door.  
  
"I have to go," Chloe whispered.  
  
"I love you, Chloe. We'll get through this," Philip said.  
  
"I know we will. I love you. Bye."  
  
"Bye, baby," Philip said before hanging up. He sighed...he knew what was going on. Nancy would try her hardest to hook Chloe up with someone else in Maine. The fact that Chloe kissed Brady flashed through his mind but he shook it off. That was the past. We can get through this, he repeated in his mind. Philip looked at his framed picture of him and Chloe from the Last Blast Dance. He traced Chloe's image with his fingertip. "They won't take you away from me...my most beautiful thing in the world."  
  
  
Jason shifted his feet awkwardly and Mimi looked down and blushed.  
  
"Jason--"  
"So--"  
  
They both stopped and laughed nervously. "Um...you want this?" Jason asked with a smile, holding out the petal-less daisy.  
  
Mimi crinkled her nose. "What am I going to do with that?"  
  
"Kinda like a souvenir."  
  
"What, sorta like those cheesy T-shirts? Jason Welles Decorated My Room and All I Got Was This Lousy Flower?"  
  
Jason laughed and looked down. "Don't girls keep those shoeboxes and crap?"  
  
"Shoeboxes and crap," Mimi repeated slowly. "Yes, we girls are suckers for that."  
  
"You know what I mean," Jason said. "Like, girls put things in boxes to remind them of their boyfriends?"  
  
"Boyfriend?" Mimi asked, looking up.  
  
"Well...I th-thought...I mean..." Jason stammered, frantically waving the daisy around.  
  
Mimi grabbed the stem to stop him, crushing the flower. "Jason...chill. You're Jason Welles, remember?" She took his hands in hers, bending the daisy. "Collected, funny, suave, gorgeous..." she smiled as her eyes twinkled.  
  
Jason grinned. "Keep going."  
  
"Great kisser, smart, resplendent..."  
  
"Great kisser, check," Jason said with a mischievous smile as he drew an imaginary check mark with his finger. "Smart, check. Resplendent..." he bit his lip thoughtfully. "Well, I don't know what that means, but, if you say so!"  
  
"Scratch smart from the list," Mimi teased.  
  
Jason smiled slyly. "Oh? Oh, hey, you forgot expert tickler," he whispered, before tackling Mimi on the bed as she squealed.  
  
"Ok, ok, I take it back!" she screamed.  
  
Jason stopped and rolled Mimi ontop of him. Mimi propped her elbows on Jason's chest and rested her chin in her hands. "Do you really think I'm...stupid?" Jason asked softly.  
  
"No," Mimi said without hesitation. "I was just kidding with you. Jase, you have so much potential, you know that? You just don't study. I mean, if you actually paid attention in class instead of sleeping everyday, you'd have a great GPA."  
  
"You sound like my dad," Jason said.  
  
Mimi rose her eyebrows. "Wow, I totally lost sexy points there."  
  
Jason wrapped his arms around Mimi's waist. "It's impossible for you to be un-sexy."  
  
"Really?" Mimi asked, her eyes lighting up.  
  
"Yes," Jason asserted. "Mimi," he started, tapping her nose with the bent, petal-free daisy. "You are beautiful and you need to know that."  
  
"No one gave me a chance to believe it," she said, averting her gaze.  
  
"Look...Meems...um...well, you know I'm not the best with words. But I'm trying to tell you that you are the most beautiful girl I know. Because you don't need to buy designer clothes or wear a faceful of make-up to look pretty. You just are. Pretty, I mean," Jason stammered.  
  
"Thank you," Mimi said softly. "That means a lot to me."  
  
"So..." Jason said nervously. Sure, she basically admitted she liked him when she pulled that last petal off of the flower. But...did she want to be with him? Mimi's words repeated in his head. Collected. Suave. Resplen--whatever.   
  
Mimi grinned. "Jason? Are you trying to ask me something?" she asked in mock-innocence.  
  
Jason glared back at her. He knew she was trying to make him sweat. "Actually, I'm going to tell you something," he answered, regaining composure. "No more lessons, no more games, no more hidden meanings. I've liked you for a while, Mimi, and this whole romantic night thing actually came easily to me. 'Cause it was for you. And I'd be the happiest, luckiest guy ever if you were...my girlfriend."  
  
Mimi smiled and ran her hand through Jason's hair. "If? Jason, you're stuck with me. Do I have to throw myself at you to make you realize that?" she joked.  
  
"That would be cool," Jason decided with a wicked grin. Mimi laughed and looked down as tears threatened to fall down her face. Oops, bad sign. "Meems, what's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"  
  
"No," Mimi smiled through her tears. "You said everything right."  
  
Jason smiled back and brushed Mimi's hair off of her forehead. "My girlfriend," he said, more to himself than to her, savoring the sound. "Ever the emotional one."   
  
Mimi closed her eyes. As of now, she was officially Jason Welles' girlfriend. Months ago, she couldn't even stand him. Now, she couldn't get enough of him. Mimi opened her eyes and gently took the crushed daisy from Jason.  
  
"Whatca doing?" Jason asked before reaching up for a kiss. Mimi responded and felt like she was going to faint. Jason had always been a good kisser but...this. This was different. It felt like heaven.  
  
"Taking the flower," Mimi replied, after pulling away. "For my shoebox and crap."  
  
"But it IS kinda...gross now," Jason laughed, looking at the daisy.  
  
Mimi brought the flower...the first flower Jason ever gave her...up to eye-level. "Well, I think it's the most beautiful thing in the world."  
  
  
Belle felt the tears run freely down her face and she felt like she was going to vomit. "You're...you're not going to kill me...are you?" she asked before she even thought it.  
  
Sam stared at the knife. "Oh! Oh, God, no. I don't want you to die, sweetheart. I'm not a psycho." Could have fooled me, Belle thought as she closed her eyes in relief. "This is sort of something I can use to shut you up in case you start screaming. You know...you yell, you bleed."   
  
"Start screaming?" she asked as she vainly tried to struggle beneath him.  
  
"Yeah. I know you won't break up with your puppy dog," Sam said, rolling his eyes. "So I might as well take something from you that Shawn probably hasn't even gotten a piece of," he whispered as his eyes roamed over her body hungrily.  
  
Belle instantly felt sick to her stomach again. He was going to rape her. Here she was, having just a normal day at school, then a relaxing day at home and some creep was just going to take advantage of her. And no one would be around to save her. Belle started sobbing as she tried even harder to push Sam off of her. Sam just laughed as he watched the tears fall down her cheeks and Belle raised her arm up, accidentally knocking the phone off of the table. The receiver rolled off the base and the sound of the dial tone gave Belle an idea. A small, desperate idea, but one nonetheless. As Sam just continued to stare at her with satisfaction, enjoying the view of her trying to escape him, Belle smashed her hand down on the base. She hoped it hit one of the speed dial buttons, maybe her dad's cell phone...anything.  
  
  
Shawn tapped his steering wheel impatiently as he waited for the light to turn green. The coach had talked his ear off after school and Shawn hoped Belle wasn't mad at him for being late. Right on cue, Shawn's cell phone rang from the glove compartment and he sighed, practicing his apology in his head as he grabbed it.  
  
"Hel--"  
  
"HELP ME!" a loud scream rang into his ear. Shawn winced and pulled the phone away from his ear as the girl continued to scream for help. It was Belle.   
  
"Shut up, you annoying--" the boy, who Shawn instantly recognized as Sam, stopped. "What, trying to call for help, Isabella?" Sam yelled.   
  
Dial tone.  
  
Shawn slammed on the gas, running the red light as passing cars honked their horns at him. Shawn didn't even notice...all he could think about was saving his most beautiful thing in the world.  
  
**Chapter 41**  
Heather pulled away from Brady's kiss when a knock came at the door.  
  
"No, no, no," Brady murmured, pulling her back. "We need to celebrate."  
  
"We can do that later," Heather promised, removing herself from Brady's grip with an apologetic smile. Brady let out a breath of frustration as Heather skipped to the door, throwing it open.  
  
"John?"  
  
"Perfect," Brady muttered under his breath. "Perfect moment for family quality time."  
  
"Hey, Heath," John said, his line vision darting into the room. "I came to get Brady."  
  
"Um...Dad?" Brady said, not bothering to hide his annoyed tone of voice. "I have a car. And...I don't want to go home yet. Heather and I have some great new that--"  
  
John held up on hand. "That can wait. Shawn called the new Basic Black building."  
  
Heather looked over her shoulder to Brady. "Why? Did something happen to Belle?" he demanded.  
  
John nodded his head grimly. "He didn't say what, but he did say Belle was in trouble at the penthouse. And then he hung up."  
  
Brady grabbed his jacket, thanking God silently that Heather lived so close to home. "Let's go."  
  
  
"There's Shawn's car," Heather pointed out as John pulled into the parking lot.  
  
"And there's Shawn," Brady muttered as they watched the teenager run past the doorman. John quickly got out of the car and the couple followed.  
  
  
Sam brought the knife down closer to Belle's face as she cried out. "I thought I told you not to scream," he growled. "Do you want to get hurt?"  
  
Belle shook her head as another sob ripped through her body. She cursed herself for not being more brave like Chloe...she'd never let this happen to her. Sam sighed and brushed the hair off of Belle's forehead. "I wish you would stop crying. It'll be hard to enjoy this when you're face is all crumpled up like that," Sam whispered, disappointed.  
  
Belle closed her eyes. She guessed it had been ten to fifteen minutes since she used the speed dial and Sam still hadn't made a move to rape her. He mostly just stared at her. It was like he enjoyed watching her struggle, some sick joy of revenge for her not wanting him.  
  
Sam's hand moved from Belle's forehead to her shoulder. Slowly, he made a trail to the first button on her blouse, his eyes fascinated with the way his hand slid down her skin.  
  
"No," Belle whispered as the tears burned in her eyes. "Please, don't do this..." Sam began to unbutton her shirt, his eyes never leaving her body. He pushed her shirt open and Belle felt like vomiting when Sam licked his upper lip slowly in anticipation. Sam traced the edge of her bra with one fingertip and suddenly grabbed her breast roughly. Belle sobbed out loudly in pain, fear and disgust. Sam squeezed her harder and Belle closed her eyes again, praying he'd stop, he'd get it over with, he'd disappear. Anything but this. Belle reduced her sounds to a frightened whimper when she thought she heard footsteps stomping down the hall. _Please, please, please..._ she chanted in her head as Sam unhooked her bra.  
  
  
Shawn led the other three down the hall as they reached the Blacks'. He swung the door open, grateful it was unlocked, and nearly exploded with anger and concern at what he saw. Sam was trying to slip Belle's bra off of her as he kissed the side of her chest, and her tearstained face was dazed and staring at the ceiling. Heather gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth, and John and Brady stopped in their footsteps in shock. None of them ever thought something like this would ever happen to Isabella Black. Then again, no one ever thinks something like this would happen to them until its too late.   
  
Sam looked up in surprise to see Shawn storm over. Shawn roughly grabbed the boy and shoved him across the room. Sam flailed his arms, off-guard, and landed on his butt. He yelped in pain as Shawn glared at him rage. Heather watched as John and Brady moved to either side of Shawn. She saw Sam's eyes hover down the line of Belle's father, boyfriend and brother. Heather crossed her arms...  
  
This bastard messed with the wrong girl.  
  
Heather looked over her shoulder to see Belle, still with her shirt off and her bra hanging off, with her head buried in her knees. Heather rushed over to Brady and grabbed his hand. "Don't," she rushed out.  
  
Brady looked over at her in surprise. "Heather, this guy--"  
  
"I know what he did. And I want to kill him, too. But what's more important? Throwing some punches or making sure your sister isn't traumatized?" Heather said slowly, tilting her head in Belle's direction. Belle was still in the same position and her body was shaking uncontrollably.   
  
Brady's heart immediately softened as he ran over to his sister. Heather smiled to herself...that was the Brady she knew and loved. She rushed over to the phone to call Bo.  
  
Brady touched Belle's shoulder lightly and her first reaction was to flinch away. But then Belle recognized the warmth of the touch and relaxed as Brady rehooked her bra. Belle hugged her shirt closed as Brady sat down next to her. He stared at his sister as she continued to sob into her knees. Brady felt his heart breaking for his Tinkerbelle and got struck with an idea. Brady watched Belle carefully as he began to hum a familiar song. Belle's cries softened more and more as Brady sang the lyrics.  
  
_The second star to the right  
Shines in the night for you  
To tell you that the dreams you plan  
Really can come true  
  
The second star to the right  
Shines with a light that's rare  
And if it's Never Land you need  
It's light will lead you there  
  
_Belle lifted her head slowly and looked over to Brady, who continued to sing the Peter Pan song. Belle shifted her body and sank her head on to Brady's lap and he stroked her hair gently. Brady continued to sing as Belle mouthed the words through her never-ending tears.  
  
_Twinkle, twinkle little star  
So I'll know where you are  
Gleaming in the skies above  
Lead me to the one who loves me  
  
And when you bring him my way  
Each time we say "Goodnight"  
We'll thank the little star that shines  
The second from the right  
  
_  
Shawn and John glanced at each other after Brady and Heather ran from their sides. Each pair of eyes were full of unstoppable rage. Sam stood up slowly and Shawn and John nodded curtly at each other. John threw one, clean punch to Sam's stomach and Shawn hit the boy hard across the face. Shawn wanted to break his nose so he could never smell Belle's coconut-scented shampoo again. He wanted to make Sam's lips needed surgery so he could never kiss Belle again. He wanted to break both of Sam's hands so he could never touch her again. He wanted to rip out his eyes so Sam could never enjoy Belle's beauty again.  
  
John and Shawn each took turns hitting Sam anywhere their fists decided to go. Sam felt his body grow weaker as he instantly regretted dropping by Belle's penthouse. He had heard rumors about Belle's dad going out of control when in a bad situation, but little did he know that was a fact.  
  
Shawn stepped back as John slammed Sam against the wall twice and then punched his face repeatedly. The sick sound of Sam's nose breaking filled the room. John moved over as Shawn threw Sam to the floor. Shawn pounced on him and roughly turned Sam's head to the direction of Belle.  
  
"Look at her," Shawn growled. The girl was crumpled in Brady's lap, shaking and crying. "You did that to her. So, you'll be lucky if you get out of here alive by the time I'm done," Shawn said, letting his rage take control of his body as he threw punch after punch to Sam's face and stomach. John marched over and dragged Sam up from underneath Shawn and flung him down to the floor again. "Get up," he muttered. Sam curled up in a ball on the floor and John and Shawn each grabbed one of Sam's arms, pulling him up. They simatelously shoved Sam against the counter. Sam felt his consciousness slipping when Shawn and John went into round two of Repeated Punches that Hurt Like Hell.  
  
  
Heather chewed her nails nervously as she paced around the room. She decided to use the phone upstairs as she didn't want to witness Shawn and John convert into pro wrestlers. Fighting wasn't exactly something she wanted to kick back with a bucket of popcorn and watch. She heard pounding on the door and sighed in relief. Heather had found Bo's cell phone number in Marlena's phone book. She just told him she needed help at the penthouse and to be prepared to make an arrest.  
  
She bolted down the stairs, past Belle and Brady crying together, past Shawn and John kicking the crap out of the bastard that started this all. Heather opened the door to see Bo immediately react to the room in front of him. Bo rushed over to his son and friend and pulled Sam away from their angry hits. Shawn and John breathed heavily and glared at the bloody boy hanging onto Bo's arms. Roman entered the room after getting the story from Heather and sighed at Sam, who looked up at the man, begging for pity with his eyes.  
  
"Sam Anderson," he said. "You are under arrest for the attempted rape and assault of Isabella Black."  
  
  
  
  



	17. Parts 42, 43 and 44

**Chapter 42  
**Mimi bounded down the hallway and slowed down near her door, biting her lip. It was a Friday night, the annual Girls Night. However, Mimi had a feeling this one wouldn't be as giggly and carefree as the usual ones. First of all, Chloe left for Maine the other day, and secondly, Belle was still coping over what Sam tried to do to her.  
  
Mimi sighed and bumped her door open with her hip. "Okay, I've got Twinkies, chips, white cheddar popcorn, and tons of other stuff you shouldn't be letting me eat," Mimi joked as she piled the food in front of Belle. "It should be a fun bathing sui season," she muttered.  
  
Belle opened the bag of popcorn and immediately started munching on the snack. Mimi sat down next to her friend, curling her legs underneath her. "How are you holding up, sweetie?" she asked, placing her hand on Belle's shoulder.  
  
Belle shrugged. "Better, I guess," she said, looking down. "I just--"  
  
"It's not your fault," Mimi interrupted, knowing Belle was about to place the blame on herself once again.  
  
Belle exhaled in frustration and plopped her head down on the pillow. "Meems, I'm too nice! I let him take advantage of me..."  
  
Mimi plopped down next to her friend and laid her head on Belle's shoulder. Belle rested her head on top of Mimi's. "Belle, he was stronger than you, what--"  
  
"No," Belle said. "I mean, Shawn knew there was something up with Sam. And so did I, actually. But, NO, I just have to go and be nice to the kid. I totally led him on, Mimi."  
  
The brunette sighed. "No, you didn't. So you're nice. That's a good thing! Besides, Sam thought you liked him way before you even talked to him," Mimi pointed out. Belle let Mimi's words sink in. "He was a sick loser, Belle. That wasn't your fault."  
  
Belle looked away, knowing Mimi was right. Mimi decided to take Belle's mind off of Sam for once. "So, you haven't told me yet what incredibly adorable things a certain Shawn Brady told you to make you feel better," Mimi teased.  
  
Belle giggled, grateful for Mimi's lightheartedness. "That must be some record for me. That's like, what, two days of not mentioning Shawn?" she joked. Belle smiled to herself as she remembered the other night.  
  
_Shawn sighed, finally done talking with his father, Abe and Roman in the office. He approached Belle, who was sitting next to John. She still had Shawn's leather jacket on and Shawn grinned at how it looked so huge on the petite girl. John caught Shawn's eye, whispered something to Belle and walked into Roman's office. Belle looked up as Shawn took John's seat. "Hey," he said.  
  
"Hi," Belle replied quietly. Shawn looked down...he couldn't believe just a couple of hours ago, she was underneath some other guy, probably expecting the worst. Shawn's body shuddered with anger as he thought of the boy who tried to take away Belle's innocence. Shawn shook away the memory and turned to Belle.  
  
"How're you feeling?" he asked.  
  
Belle met Shawn's eyes. "I'm okay," she whispered. She slowly laced her fingers with Shawn's.  
  
"You want me to get you something?" Shawn asked, his concern still evident. "Water, Coke?"  
  
Belle shook her head and tightened her grip on Shawn's hand. "I just want you to stay."  
  
Shawn smiled. "Well, that'll be an easy one for me to do." The couple sat there for a few minutes before Shawn cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Belle."  
  
Belle looked up at Shawn in surprise. "Sorry? Why?"  
  
"For not getting there in time," he explained in shame. "I should've been there, I shouldn't have let anything like that happen."  
  
Belle shifted in her seat to face Shawn better. "Shawn, stop. You **were** there. You **did** stop something from happening," she reminded him gently.  
  
"Yeah, but...he touched you, Belle. He scared you."  
  
"But it's okay," Belle assured him. "You had no way of knowing he was there. And you saved me anyway, Shawn," Belle said with a small smile.  
  
Shawn smiled back and broke their hand-holding to put his arm around Belle's shoulders. "I'll always be there for you, baby. No one's ever going to hurt you again."  
  
Belle nodded, snuggling deeper into Shawn's hold. She knew Shawn meant his words. "Thank you, Shawn," she said, for good measure in case Shawn still felt guilty. "For being so sweet and being at my side."  
  
"Always," Shawn agreed. They sat in silence until Belle giggled. "What's so funny?" Shawn asked with a curious grin.   
  
"You let me call you sweet."  
  
Shawn chuckled. "Well, cherish it, cause now you're not allowed to ever say it again."  
  
"Hey!" Belle protested, laughing.  
  
_Mimi let out a giggle. "Well, now you know he's whipped. He actually let you say the s-word."  
  
Belle smiled and a picture grabbed her attention. Between a frame of Belle, Mimi and Chloe posing as Charlie's Angels, and of Mimi, Belle, Shawn and Philip playing kickball in 5th grade, was a larger wooden frame. In it was a picture of Jason kissing Mimi on the cheek.  
  
"Speaking of whipped," Belle said in a mock-scolding tone. "I see the picture of you and me in 8th grade has been replaced."  
  
"Hey! Jason does not have me whipped," Mimi protested. "Besides, you hated that picture."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Belle laughed. "You know, you and Jason are, like, dangerously cute together. I didn't know that it was possible for a couple to be so cute."  
  
"It's fun being dangerously cute, though," Mimi joked.  
  
"I still can't believe you two are together. I mean, first you hated each other. Then, you just, like, made out a lot. And then you were best friends. And now..."  
  
"He's my boyfriend!" Mimi squealed happily.   
  
The two girls giggled at their silliness as all unhappiness and bad memories were erased for at least the moment by the most refreshing thing a girl could have...friendship.  
  
  
"K.O.!" Jason declared, pumping his fist in the air. Shawn threw his game controller on the floor and rolled his eyes.  
  
"You wouldn't have killed me if you didn't smash the buttons like that," Shawn grumbled.  
  
"Well, Brady had his serving of sour grapes today," Jason joked. "All right, all right, rematch," he said as Shawn and Jason picked new fighters.  
  
"You play winner?" Shawn asked Philip, looking over his shoulder.  
  
Philip sighed unhappily and fiddled with Shawn's stereo until he found a familiar slow melody. Perfect.  
  
_The sky has lost its color, the sun has turned to gray  
At least that's how it feels to me whenever you're away  
I crawl up in a corner, as I watch the minutes pass  
Each one brings me closer to the time when you'll be back  
You're coming back  
  
I can't take the distance, I can't take the miles  
I can't take the time until the next time I see you smile  
I can't take the distance and I'm not ashamed  
That I can't take a breath without saying your name  
I can brave a hurricane and still be standing tall when all the dust has settled down  
But I can't take the distance  
  
I still believe in feelings...but sometimes I feel too much  
I make believe you're close to me but it ain't close enough  
Not nearly close enough  
  
I can't take the distance, I can't take the miles  
I can't take the time until the next time I see you smile  
I can't take the distance and I'm not ashamed  
That I can't take a breath without saying your name  
I can brave a hurricane and still be standing tall when all the dust has settled down  
_  
_And I can't take the distance  
The distance  
  
_When the song died down, Shawn and Jason shared a glance. "Phil, she's only been gone for, like, two days," Jason said, returning to the game.  
  
"And why are we listening to a station that plays Evan and Jaron?" Shawn asked.  
  
"And why do you know that was Evan and Jaron?" Jason shot back with a grin. Philip ignored his friends and closed his eyes to imagine running his hands through long, silky beautiful brown hair.  
  
Shawn reached into a nearby bag of chips, never breaking his gaze from the game screen. "You seem to forget who my girlfriend is: Teenybopper of the Century."  
  
Jason laughed. "Yeah, well, my girl is pretty fierce competition for that title, so, I feel ya, man."  
  
"Chloe likes opera," Philip muttered softly, his mind full of Chloe's singing as soon as the guys started talking about music.  
  
Shawn and Jason glanced at each other again and sighed, pausing the game. "Philip, don't you think it's a little soon to be acting like Chloe died? I mean, I hate to see you when she's still gone two months from now," Shawn said carefully.  
  
Philip whined unhappily at the reminder of two and a half summer months without Chloe.  
Jason scratched the side of his head as he and Shawn stared helplessly at their miserable friend. "Dude, what do chicks do when crap like this goes down?" Jason whispered to Shawn.  
  
"Um...eat ice cream and watch Pretty Woman?" Shawn shrugged.  
  
"That's it?" Jason said, crinkling his nose. "That's kinda boring. Don't they, like, watch porn or something?"  
  
"No, that's what **we're** supposed to do."  
  
"Well, do you have any?" Jason asked, looking at Shawn's tapes.  
  
"No, I'm not you, remember?" Shawn answered, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Chloe says porn is for disgusting losers," Philip murmured as he traced a circle on Shawn's window with his finger. Shawn shot a bemused look towards Jason who cleared his throat uncomfortably. Suddenly, Philip pounded his fist against the windowpane. Shawn and Jason flinched as Philip winced at the pain. "I hate this. This is going to be the worst summer ever!"  
  
"Hey, you always have us," Shawn offered, patting Philip on the back reassuringly.  
  
"Yeah, great," Philip muttered.  
  
"Hey, thanks a lot," Jason said. "Look, we may not have Chloe's boobs and we may not wanna make out with you, but we're your best friends."  
  
"Right," Shawn nodded. "We'll be here for you. We know you're gonna miss Chloe, but we'll help you out. That's what we're here for you," Shawn said as Jason nodded encouragingly.  
  
Philip looked over his shoulder and grinned. "Thanks, guys."  
  
The three friends stood there awkwardly.  
  
"Are we supposed to hug now or something?" Jason asked uncomfortably.  
  
"Actually, I think it's time for me to kick your ass at that game!" Shawn shouted as Philip laughed. Jason and Shawn dived for the controllers.  
  
"Don't forget, you play winner, Phil!" Jason said. "Meaning me!"  
  
Philip forced out another smile as Jason and Shawn yelled names at each other while they pounded on the controllers. Philip turned his attention back to the window and frowned. Sure, he cherished his friends but...how was he going to get through the summer without his Chloe?  
  
**Chapter 43  
**Mimi slowly lowered her foot into the cool water and instantly yanked it up, crinkling her nose. "It's a lil' cold," she called over her shoulder.  
  
Jason walked onto Mimi's deck with his clothes in his arms. "Hey, your parents installed this pool for a reason."  
  
"Yeah, for me to feel like I'm rich," Mimi joked, turning to face Jason. She felt her breath catch in her throat. She had seen Jason in a bathing suit before but he looked...perfect. He had definitely been working out and his skin looked even tanner than usual. Mimi wrapped her towel tighter around her as she reminded herself that **this** was her boyfriend. _Whew,_ Mimi thought. _I owe you one, God.  
  
_Jason looked up at Mimi with an amused smile. "See something you like?"  
  
"I...um...well, I--" Mimi stammered.  
  
Jason grinned and stretched his arms over his head, yawning. His shorts slipped down a little to expose the area she called the "v"--a little below the belly button. Mimi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. What was this, Temptation Backyard? Sure, they were dating and all, but she had to fight taking him right there. _Not ready, not ready, _Mimi chanted to herself.  
  
"So, are you gonna go swimming in that?" Jason asked, pointing to Mimi's towel.  
  
"Oh. Yeah, I better take this off," she muttered.  
  
Jason wrapped his arms from behind Mimi just as she slipped off the towel. "Hmm, I love hearing that come out of your mouth," he murmured.  
  
Mimi tilted her head back. "Well, Jase, sorry to disappoint, but you're not gonna be hearing it again anytime soon," she teased, stepping out of his embrace.  
  
Jason threw his head back dramatically and groaned when he saw Mimi's baby blue string bikini. "Woman, you are killing me!"  
  
_If you only knew how much you were killing me, _Mimi said to herself as she tested the water again with her toes. "Gosh, it's freez--"  
  
"WIMP!" Jason shouted, suddenly lunging forward and wrapping his arms around Mimi. He pushed them both over the edge of the pool and splashing into the water. Mimi emerged first, coughing. "Jason, I'm gonna kill--Jase? Jason?" Mimi spun around, her eyes darting over the surface of the water. A second later, she felt something brush by her leg and Mimi screamed when the something pulled her under.  
  
She came up again, spitting a mouthful of water out. Jason jumped up and laughed, brushing Mimi's wet hair off of her forehead.  
  
Mimi playfully swatted his hand away. "Jerk," she kidded, sticking out her tongue. Jason's eyes twinkled and he captured her tongue in between his lips. Caught off-guard, Mimi blushed and backed away. "Jason," she giggled nervously.  
  
"Sorry," he said, lightly splashing her. "When I see tongue, I can't be held responsible for my actions."  
  
Mimi rolled her eyes and laughed. "Wanna play volleyball or something?"  
  
"Actually, since we're out here all alone, let's ditch the bathing suits," Jason suggested, a wicked grin spreading over his face.  
  
"You mean skinny-dipping?" Mimi whispered.  
  
"Yes, that would be the definition of skinny-dipping: naked people in a body of water."  
  
"I--well, um..."  
  
"Ah, come on, Lockhart," Jason said, leaning closer. "Don't be a coward."  
  
Mimi smirked. "Ah, come on, Welles," she mimicked. "I thought you could do better than that. If you're gonna get me naked, you'll have to be more creative."  
  
Jason's eyes lit up. "So there is a chance to see you naked?" he asked hopefully. Mimi shook her head in defeat before dipping under the water. She quickly came back up, throwing her head back and smoothing her hair down with her hands. "Oh, please don't say no, 'cause I feel like I'm in the middle of a personal Sports Illustrated Swimsuit shoot," Jason said lowly, wading closer to Mimi.  
  
"What is it with guys and one-track minds? I bet I could say anything and you'd turn it sexual," Mimi said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Mm...sounds like a fun game to me!"  
  
Mimi sighed. "Hmm...grass."  
  
"Sex in a public park on a freshly cut lawn," Jason said without hesitation.  
  
"Public?!" Mimi squeaked. "Why would it have to be public?"  
  
"Ah, young Grasshopper," Jason said in a horrible mock-accent. "You have much to learn from Master Welles."  
  
"Master Welles, huh?" Mimi asked with a mischievous glitter in her eyes. "Now that could be interesting."  
  
Jason expression changed immediately to intrigue. "Now whose mind is in the gutter? Not that I'm complaining, of course..."  
  
Mimi threw her arms around Jason's neck. "You know, for a sex-crazed guy, you sure do talk a lot."  
  
"Well, do me a favor and shut me the hell up," Jason growled.  
  
Mimi obliged immediately, bringing her lips up to Jason's. It didn't take long for Jason to slip his tongue over Mimi's mouth and she parted her lips at once. As they deepened the kiss, Mimi wrapped her legs around Jason's waist and pressed herself closer. Jason moaned loudly into Mimi's mouth. The feeling of Mimi's thinly covered breasts pressing against his bare chest and the fact that he was rubbing her silky thighs made Jason feel like he was going to lose his mind. Mimi moved on to Jason's neck, her hair sending water droplets running down Jason's body. She nipped Jason's skin and soothed it instantly with a slow flick of her tongue. Jason threw his head back, encouraging her, and his breathing grew faster as Mimi shifted her weight. Her body rubbed against the bulge in Jason's shorts, causing him to close his eyes and groan deeply.  
  
Jason let his hands wander from her thighs and make a trail up Mimi's body. Mimi felt herself shiver as she found Jason's lips again. Jason's hands continued to move up until they reached Mimi's chest. She pulled back slightly, allowing Jason to reach under her suit and cup her breast. Mimi whimpered against Jason's lips. She had never been this far with a guy before and she never knew it would be this intense. Mimi rocked her hips towards Jason and he squeezed her gently, making them both lose even more control as they kissed each other frantically.  
  
BRING!  
  
The harsh ring of Jason's cell phone from his pants' pocket snapped Mimi back to clear thoughts. The couple pulled away, breathing heavily. Mimi hopped off of Jason, turned her back to him and adjusted her top as she cleared her throat uncomfortably. Jason closed his eyes. He was definitely disappointed in the interruption. But deep down he knew they needed to stop before doing something Mimi wasn't ready for. In her pool.  
  
Jason spun her around and lightly kissed her forehead. "Baby, I'm sorry that went so far."  
  
Mimi looked up and bit her lip. "I-it's ok."  
  
"Is it?" Jason asked, ducking a little to meet Mimi's gaze.  
  
"I...I just...it scares me, I guess. I mean, everything about it," Mimi mumbled, her blush getting deeper. _Jason must think I'm such a dork,_ she said to herself.  
  
"The thought of me naked is that frightening, huh?" Jason joked, hoping to get Mimi's mind off any insecure thoughts he knew she was having.   
  
Mimi laughed and gave Jason a hug. "Trust me, that's the thing I'll look forward to the most."  
  
Jason pulled back and placed a stray lock of hair behind Mimi's ear. "When the time comes. I won't push you, all right? I promise." Mimi nodded with a grin, thankful that Jason was so understanding. "By the way, no need to be scared, because I can assure you that I look hella fine naked," Jason said, raising one eyebrow in an attempt to appear debonair.  
  
Mimi shook her head with a giggle. "Good, thanks for setting my mind at ease," she said sarcastically. The phone continued to ring and Jason sighed in exasperation. He gave Mimi a quick kiss before pulling himself out of the pool.  
  
"Damn cell phones. Good for nothing excepting interrupting my game," he half-joked to Mimi before digging his phone out of his pile of clothes.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"What the hell took you so long to pick up?"  
  
Jason closed his eyes. "Hello, Jan."  
  
  
"We're only going to dotCom, you know," Shawn said, plopping down on Belle's bed. "No need to get all glammed up for some mochas."  
  
Belle tugged at a stubborn strand of hair. "I just wanna try--" Belle pulled a handful of hair back. "A new hair--ow! Ow!" Belle let go of her hair in frustration, letting it fall over her shoulders. She glared at her reflection in the mirror and started again.  
  
Shawn sighed, not bothering to rush his girlfriend. She worked at her own...very slow...pace. He flipped her buddy bear around a couple of times until a thin blue book on Belle's shelf caught his eye. Their middle school yearbook. Shawn grinned and pulled it out, flipping to the seventh grade pictures section. Belle, of course, was the only one of her page at least, who didn't look like a dork. Her hair was swept up in a ponytail and she had on the cutest smile. Shawn looked a row down and his eyes widened at his picture. Well, the memory of pre-rebel Shawn--Shawn-D with a bowl cut and braces--was a surprise enough. But the big red heart drawn around his picture was certainly unexpected. Above the heart, Belle had written "S.B. + B.B. = 4eva!"   
  
Shawn smiled and shook his head. It was still unbelievable that they had wasted so many years denying their feelings. Of course, it seemed Belle gave up denying a lot sooner than Shawn did. Shawn flipped through the pages. Next to both Mimi's and Philip's pictures were the letters, "B.F.F!" Some things never change. A big X was drawn over Jan's face. Another X was over Jason's and in Mimi's handwriting, it said below it, "Major Buttface!" And some things change a lot. Shawn finally reached his yearbook signature to Belle, written in his spot that he used every year--the back cover.  
  
_Belle,  
I never know what to write in these things. I know you'll have a good summer, cuz you're gonna come sailing with me, Mom and Dad. I know you'll do good next year, cuz you always do. So, what else is there? Well, anyway, I'm glad you're my best friend, even if you do spend too much time doing girl stuff. Well...see ya later!  
Sincerely, Shawn-D  
  
_Shawn grinned at his awkward entry...thankfully, he had grown more eloquent since then. Belle would kill him if he tried to write something like that to her now. Shawn's grin widened when he saw he had started to write "Love," but crossed it out and replaced it with a sadly spelled "Sincerely,". Jeez, if he wasn't so pathetically clueless, Belle would have gone with him to the Moving Up dance...and all the dances after that.  
  
_"Do you know Belle's going to the dance with Danny Larusso?" a seventh-grade Philip asked, leaning against the wall as they waited for Shawn's mom to pick them up.  
  
"What?" Shawn asked, his eyes flashing angrily.  
  
"Yeah. I guess she got tired of waiting for you to ask her, Shawn-D," Philip said knowingly.   
  
Shawn pushed his jealously down and turned away. "Whatever, loser. Belle and I are just friends."_  
  
Shawn smiled to himself. And that was his mantra for years until he finally woke up. He looked up to see Belle staring at him. And thank God he did.   
  
Belle averted her gaze and blushed. "You weren't supposed to see that."  
  
Shawn closed the yearbook and rose his eyebrows. "Ah, come on, 'B.B.' It was a very beautifully drawn heart." Belle glared at him and jumped on the bed. "So, we're gonna be together 4eva, huh?" Shawn asked with a playful smile, holding up four fingers.  
  
"Shut up, Brady!" Belle squealed, swatting his shoulder.   
  
Shawn grabbed Belle's hand and pulled her on top of him. "I like you better here," Shawn decided softly.  
  
Belle smiled and lowered her head to kiss Shawn. Shawn felt the familiar tightening in his pants that happened whenever Belle touched him and he played with the hem of her shirt. Shawn's hand slowly found its way up Belle's shirt and she pulled away instantly. "I'm s-sor-sorry," she stammered.  
  
"Hey...Belle, it's ok. If anyone should be sorry, it's me," Shawn assured her.  
  
Belle swore she saw disappointment in his eyes and she bit her lip guiltily. Here she was, leading another guy and being a tease, just like with Sam.  
  
Belle sat up and buried her head in her hands. Shawn scooted up behind her. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"  
  
"N-nothing. Let's just go to dotCom, ok?"  
  
"We're not leaving until--" Shawn's cell phone began to ring and he rolled his eyes. He reached over the side of the bed and picked it up.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Mr. Brady?"  
  
Shawn frowned in confusion. "H...Henderson?"  
  
"I found your number on young Philip's desk." Shawn jumped up. Don't say it, oh, no, don't say--   
  
Henderson cleared his throat. "He's gone."  
  
**Chapter 44  
**Philip gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. According to the address that Chloe gave him on her quick phone call before she left so he could write to her, Philip was only five minutes away from the house.   
  
He couldn't believe he was actually in Maine. Philip had never done anything this spontaneous in his life before, but, then again, he never had anyone like Chloe in his life before. Philip had just been sitting in his room, wishing that he could run his hands through her gorgeous long hair at that moment. Then he had remembered that his dad's credit card was still in his wallet, and before he knew it, Philip was driving at record speed to the airport. One ticket and rent-a-car later, here he was.  
  
His dad was going to murder him.  
  
Philip shook his head...he could get him to understand. It wasn't fair that Nancy had taken Chloe away from him the way she did. Philip just needed to see her, even if it was only for five minutes. To know that she missed him at least half as much as he missed her. Philip made a sharp left and felt his stomach knot in anxiety. He was so excited that he was making up his own speed limits as he went.  
  
Philip sighed when he saw the number on the mailbox. This was it. He pulled to a stop and took a deep breath as he imagined the look on Chloe's face when she opened the door. Surprise. Happiness. Excitement. Relief. Philip cheerfully thought of more expressions as he climbed out of his car and up the driveway. Suddenly, he heard a familiar laugh a few feet to his side and Philip walked back down the pavement. He peered onto the neighbor's front lawn and immediately felt his face tense.  
  
Chloe was running away from some kid their age on the grass. They were both laughing as the boy tackled her to the ground and began tickling her. Chloe squealed and playfully tried to push the guy off of her. Philip felt his eyes narrow into little slits and he clenched his jaw. This was not what he pictured. He was expecting Chloe to be as depressed and lonely as him...not frolicking with some boy band member wannabe on his front lawn.  
  
Suddenly a hand clamped onto his shoulder and whipped him around.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Nancy demanded.   
  
  
"When are we going to have the engagement party?" Heather called to Brady, who was trying to fix her sink dials in the bathroom.  
  
"God, Heather, when did you turn into Amazon Woman? You nearly killed this damn thing," Brady grunted.  
  
"Or maybe you just can't fix it," Heather retorted. Brady mimicked her comment in a whiny, high-pitched tone and she sighed. "I am getting married to a six-year-old," she muttered to herself. "Let's focus here. I'll make it simple for you. Party. When?"  
  
"Oh, you're just on a roll tonight, Heather," Brady said, rolling his eyes.   
  
"Look, I'm tired and I'm crabby and I just want to figure out the damn date of the party," Heather said.  
  
"Why don't you just go take a nap?" Brady asked, throwing down the dial in frustration.  
  
"Because I need to figure out when to have the party. Your dad and Marlena wanted to throw this thing as soon as possible, and we need to give them the best time for us," Heather repeated more gently.  
  
"Okay, okay...well, why don't you figure out your work schedule and we'll arrange it around that?" Brady suggested, picking the dial back up.  
  
Heather nodded and reached for her planner. "Good call." She thumbed through the pages and scanned the month's work times. Suddenly, a red dot on the page caught the corner of her eye.  
  
Late. She was late.  
  
"Holy shit," she murmured.  
  
"What's wrong?" Brady asked, entering the room. Heather looked up at him in surprise and slammed her planner shut. "Heather? What's the matter?"  
  
Heather bit her lip and took a shaky breath."Brady, I think you better sit down."  
  
"What the hell took you so long to pick up?" Jan repeated.  
  
"Why the hell are you calling me, Jan?" Jason demanded, ignoring her question. Mimi waded slowly to the edge of the pool. Jan was calling Jason? This was not good at all. What if she wants Jason back? _No,_ Mimi told herself firmly. _Confidence, girl. Jason wants you, not her.  
  
_"Miss me, sweetie?" Jan cooed.  
  
"Oh, yeah. Cause, you know, I care about you as much as I care about a huge pile of elephant shit," Jason responded. Mimi rolled her eyes...where the heck did he come up with this stuff?  
  
"Thanks for the visual, Jase," Jan muttered.  
  
Mimi decided to get closer and raised herself out of the pool. However, her foot slipped and she toppled back into the water, causing a huge splash. Jason whipped around and Mimi resurfaced with a sheepish grin.  
  
"What was that? Where are you?" Jan demanded shrilly.  
  
"I'm with my girlfriend," Jason said cheerfully, enjoying the power over Jan he had to make her squirm. Mimi winced as Jan's loud voice roared over the phone.  
  
"YOUR WHAT?!"  
  
"My girlfriend," Jason repeated, winking at Mimi. Mimi slapped herself dramatically on the forehead. Sometimes Jason forgot the brain was a thing to be used. Well, as long as he didn't say her name, Jan wouldn't slip into permanent PMS.  
  
Jan struggled with words in disbelief and Jason continued. "Yes, you heard me right. Girlfriend. Mimi Lockhart-style."  
  
Mimi closed her eyes as she mentally start to make her list of things to do before Jan Spears murdered her.  
  
"MIMI!?" Jan screamed.  
  
"Yes, Mimi. Now, if you'll excuse us, you interrupted some serious making out and I'd really like to get back to it. See ya, Jan!" Jason said, hanging up his cell phone proudly and dunking it onto his pile of dry clothes. "Three points!" he shouted, pumping his fist in the air.  
  
Jason jogged back over to Mimi with a grin as she pulled herself out of the pool and held out his hand for Mimi to slap. "How awesome was I?!"  
  
Mimi glared at him and punched him hard on the arm before storming into the house. Jason stared after her in confusion...that was way too much like I-Hate-Jason Mimi from a few months ago.  
  
"Oh, come on, don't tell me we have to start all over again!" Jason called after her.  
  
  
Mimi sighed shakily and leaned against the wall. She probably didn't have any right to be angry at Jason, since Jan would have found out that they were dating sooner or later. It's just that later seemed a lot nicer and safer than sooner. Jan was like Satan's teenage daughter with ugly shoes. Still, she knew that she had to apologize for being bratty to Jason. Mimi pushed herself away from the wall and bit her lip. Maybe Jan wouldn't care and would leave her alone...  
  
Who was she kidding? Mimi was going have to find the nearest flight to Guam before Jan got her claws on her.  
  
  
Jan punched her pillow and screamed in rage. "Enjoy him now, Meems," she muttered. "This is going to the shortest relationship in history."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	18. Parts 45 and 46

Chapter 45  
"Ow!" Shawn yelped.  
  
"I'm trying here," Belle said defensively, moving her hands across Shawn's shoulders.  
  
"I asked you to work the kinks out of my neck, not to strangle me," Shawn muttered. Belle frowned and tightened her grip. "Ouch!" Shawn yelled. Belle rolled her eyes and shifted her weight to face Shawn.   
  
"That one was on purpose, Mr. Grumpy-Pants."  
  
Shawn rubbed the sore spot and looked down. "Sorry. I guess I have been kinda cranky."  
  
"Maybe you should start paying attention in English class, Brady, 'cause you have a warped definition of 'kinda'," Belle said with a smile.  
  
"I'm sorry, Belle," Shawn repeated gently. "I'm just worried about Philip."  
  
Belle raised her eyebrows. "And why wasn't I informed about your new position as Philip's mom?" she teased.  
  
"Ah, you're just such a comedian, Perfect Girl," Shawn said, grinning, before yanking Belle's bun out of her hair elastic with one swift movement.  
  
Belle gasped and brought her hands up to her head. "That was just wrong," she scolded.  
  
Shawn laughed and turned Belle's back to him. "Here, I'll fix it for you."  
  
Belle tried to scoot away but Shawn tightened his legs against her, enveloping her in a Shawn Brady Sandwich. "What did I do to deserve a Shawn-made hairstyle?" Belle groaned.  
  
Shawn pulled Belle's hair back and she winced. "I think it was that pathetic attempt of a massage that nearly sent me to the hospital," he retorted.  
  
"You're just a big baby," Belle mumbled. Shawn tilted his head to the side thoughtfully as he tried to wrap the elastic around Belle's hair. Geez, how did girls have the patience to do this? Didn't they ever head of shower, brush and go? "Anyway," Belle said, closing her eyes. Sure, her hair will be a mess when Shawn's done but him playing with her hair felt relaxing. "Philip will be fine. He just needs to see Chloe and..."  
  
"Know that she's as miserable as him?" Shawn finished.  
  
"Well, it sounds weird out loud, but yeah. He just wants to know they are going through the same thing. And not to mention, just seeing her will make him happy. I think it's romantic," Belle said dreamily.  
  
"It's dumb," Shawn said. "He's gonna get screamed at by Nancy, be sent back home, be screamed at by Victor, then Nancy will call there and Phil will be screamed at some more. Yup, really seeing the romance."  
  
Belle wrinkled her nose. "Huh. I never thought of it like that."  
  
"Well, baby, I always have been smarter than you," Shawn joked before finishing Belle's sloppy bun.  
  
Belle turned around and smacked Shawn on the shoulder. "Oh, whatever! You wish."  
  
"You wanna hear some other wishes?" Shawn asked softly.  
  
Belle reached behind her and patted her hair. "Well, my wish is that my boyfriend was better at styling hair," she said in a teasing tone.  
  
Shawn pulled Belle onto his lap without warning and she put on hand on his shoulder to balance herself. Shawn pressed his face against Belle's neck and kissed her lightly. "And I wish my girlfriend would tell me what had her so upset before Henderson called," Shawn murmured against her skin.  
  
  
"I'm late," Heather blurted out.  
  
Brady furrowed his brow and glanced at his watch. "Late? For what?"  
  
Heather rolled her eyes. "No, you moron. My period is late."  
  
Brady froze his position and felt his jaw hang open. "W-what?"  
  
Heather tilted her head back and tried to take a deep breath. "I think you heard me, Brady, so don't make me say it again."  
  
Brady jumped up suddenly, waving his hands around frantically. "I don't understand! How did this happen?!"  
  
"I'll refrain from a sex ed joke," Heather mumbled. "But, let's not freak, okay?"  
  
"Let's not freak?! This is what we're supposed to do! We are supposed to be in major freak mode, because we are not ready for this!" Brady yelled.  
  
"Yes, I know that!" Heather shouted back. "But, just because I'm late doesn't mean I'm pregnant."  
  
"Ok!" Brady said. "Give me meanings, give me meanings," he said rapidly, snapping his fingers together as he paced across the room.  
  
"Well...um...it could mean I'm stressed," Heather offered.  
  
Brady gave Heather a look. "Stress? What have you got to stress about?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry we don't all have horrible lives like you, Brady," Heather said sarcastically. "Maybe you're stressing me out!"  
  
"Me?! Oh, it's always my fault!" Brady yelled.  
  
"Yes!" Heather said. "You're stressing me out! I'm probably going to be like, what, three more days late because of this fight!"  
  
Brady rolled his eyes. "Sorry, but I don't think it works like that."  
  
Heather threw up her hands in exasperation. "How would you know? How often are you pregnant?"  
  
Brady raised his eyebrows. "And how often are you?!" he shot back.  
  
"Look," Heather said, taking a deep breath. "This isn't going anywhere."  
  
"You're right," Brady sighed. "I'm sorry for snapping...I guess you really don't need me to act like a brat right now."  
  
"We're both acting bratty," Heather admitted. She looked up at Brady and her eyes began to water. "Brady, what are we going to do?" she asked softly.  
  
"Well," Brady started. "We're going to get you a pregnancy test."  
  
"And what if it's positive?" Heather whispered. "What do we do then?"  
  
Brady swallowed nervously and gently took Heather's hand in his. "Honestly? I have no idea." Heather closed her eyes as a tear fell down her face and Brady wrapped her in a tight hug.  
  
  
Mrs. Lockhart swung open the door to see a smiling young girl. "Hello!"  
  
"Hi. I'm Jan, Mimi's friend," the girl said cheerfully. Maureen bit her lip...she remembered that Mimi had mentioned Jan before, but she couldn't place what she said about her.  
  
"Mimi's out back, if you'd like to see her," Maureen offered.  
  
"No!" Jan shouted. Maureen face instantly contorted into a confused expression and Jan continued. "I mean, thank you, but I'd just like to grab my...um...book from Mimi's room. She borrowed it but I need it back."  
  
"Ah, a reader," Maureen chirped. "Sure, it's upstairs; first door on the left."  
  
"Thanks," Jan muttered before bolting up the stairs. Geez, was Mimi's mom the inspiration for Carol Brady or something? It made her nauseous how sunny she was.   
  
Jan quickly scanned Mimi's room, looking for a diary. Girls like Mimi always kept diaries, even though Jan had no idea what a lame person like her would write about. Mimi's most exciting entry was probably something like she didn't correct a cashier for giving her five dollars back instead of three. Well, now Mimi probably had plenty to write about now that she was whoring it up with Jason. Jan fumed at the image of the two of them together and she quickly shook her head. Whatever. Revenge on Mimi would be more than enough to keep Jan satisfied.  
  
Jan tapped her finger against her chin. Where would Mimi hide her diary? Probably someplace cliched that she saw in a movie or something.  
  
Jan's eyes lit up and she lifted Mimi's mattress to find a small yellow book underneath it. She snatched the book out and grinned at the fact that it was the lockless kind. Jan flipped through the pages until she got to the more recent entries. Finally, that name Jason caught her eye.  
  
Dear Diary,  
  
Barf, Jan thought, rolling her eyes. Could she be any more pathetic?  
  
Remember how I wrote that I suggested to Jason that he should go to Salem U.?  
  
Jan shook her head...sure, Meems, a diary is going to answer your question. 'Why, yes, I do remember! Please, write more!'  
  
Well, Jason decided to go there! He told me that football holds no future for him since he doesn't even really enjoy it anymore. But Jase said he does love kids and that he remembered me mentioning Salem U. as a good school for an education major. I think Jason is scared to tell his dad, who is all gung-ho about Jason eventually going pro. But I reminded Jason that you should do what you like so that you don't wish your entire life away. You know, like, he could be wishing every day would go by quicker since he hates what he does for a living. The only reason Jase began football was because his dad made him be good at it...not because he liked it. And if Jason doesn't like football, he won't try, and he won't make pro's. Not to mention it's not exactly simple to become a professional football player. Jason agreed and thought it would be better to do something he really, truly enjoyed, while at the same time, helping kids learn. How sweet is that?!  
  
Jan looked away from Mimi's diary in disgust. "Wish your entire life away"? "Helping kids learn"? This was a teenager's diary? Where were the lies, the sex, the booze? God, she knew Mimi was a loser, but this was just ridiculous. Jan needed some dirt on her, at least.  
  
Jan reread a sentence in Mimi's entry and wicked grin crept over her face. "Perfect. Well, perfect for me, but it sucks for you, Meems," Jan said before putting the diary back. She picked up a framed picture of Mimi and Jason, looked at it for a second, and roughly tossed it over her shoulder into Mimi's wastebasket.  
  
Chapter 46  
"Fancy meeting you here, Nancy," Philip said dully.  
  
"Look, Philip," Nancy growled. "You're crossing a hell of a lot of boundaries here."  
  
"Yeah," Philip said sadly. He wasn't paying attention to Nancy's words. All he could see was Chloe flirting with Justin Timberlake's clone.  
  
Nancy noticed Philip's discomfort and took pleasure in it. "That's Blaine. He really enjoys Chloe's company. They've been acting like that since the day we got here."  
  
Philip's eyes widened in shock. Since day one, she was prancing around with a guy cheesily named Blaine?  
  
"I predict that by the end of the summer, Chloe and Blaine will be the perfect couple," Nancy decided with a wicked grin.  
  
Philip's face fell as it crumpled up in pain. "Just stop, Nancy. I think I got the picture," he muttered.  
  
"No, I don't think you do," she snapped. "Chloe doesn't want you anymore, do you understand that, Philip? She hasn't mentioned you once since we got here," Nancy finished smugly.  
  
"You're lying," Philip spat. "You're making this all up...you're trying to ruin my relationship with your daughter!"  
  
"There is no relationship left," Nancy pointed out triumphantly.  
  
Suddenly, the front door of the house squeaked open. "Nancy, why are--Philip?"  
  
"Hey, Dr. Wesley," Philip murmured.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Craig asked, walking up to Philip and Nancy.  
  
"He was planning on stealing Chloe away!" Nancy cried out dramatically.  
  
"No," Philip protested. "I just wanted to see her!"  
  
"Yeah, right," Nancy said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Wait a sec," Craig interrupted, holding out the palms of his hands. "Let me get this straight. You came all the way from Salem to Maine just to see Chloe?" Craig asked incredulously. Philip just nodded and raked his fingers through his hair. "You really love her, don't you?" Craig asked.  
  
Both Philip and Nancy looked up in surprise. Could Craig be taking Philip's side? "Yes," Philip said quickly. "I love her with all my heart."  
  
"We're not buying--" Nancy started.  
  
"Nancy, stop this," Craig said, not even trying to hide his exasperation. "This is getting ridiculous." Philip's eyes filled with hope as he waited for Nancy's reply.  
  
"No, Craig, what's ridiculous is that you're supporting the boy who took advantage of Chloe," Nancy shouted.  
  
"Well, according to Chloe, that was her choice. She already has her punishment, why don't you leave Philip's to his parents?" Craig asked softly.  
  
"Chloe's punishment is to stay away from Philip," Nancy reminded him through clenched teeth.  
  
"I could see for a couple of weeks, but for the entire summer? Nancy, you were just waiting for this chance to break Chloe and Philip up," Craig pointed out.  
  
The spouses continued to argue as Philip stared, transfixed, as Chloe's neighbor spun her around. Her tinkling laughter filled the air, mixed the laughs of a stranger. "You know what?" Philip choked out. "I think I'll just leave."  
  
Both Nancy and Craig looked over at Philip in shock as he walked sadly to the rent-a-car.   
  
  
Chloe pulled away from Blaine and squinted towards her parents. "Who are they talking to?" Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open when she saw him. "Philip!" she screamed.  
  
  
"Shawn, we don't have to talk about this," Belle whispered, getting up from the bed.   
  
Shawn grabbed her hand and pulled her back next to him. "Yes, we do."  
  
"You just always have to argue with me, don't you?" Belle teased, despite her feelings of sadness.  
  
"It's what we do best," Shawn joked.  
  
"What I do best," Belle corrected. "I've always been the better fighter," she giggled.  
  
Shawn grinned. "Yep, you're a perfect fighter, just like you're perfect with everything."  
  
Belle's face immediately darkened and she pushed herself off the bed. She began to fiddle with a stuffed animal on her shelf. "Don't call me that, okay?" Belle pleaded.  
  
Shawn's nose crinkled in confusion. "But I always call you that."  
  
"Well, I don't like it," Belle snapped. "Nobody's perfect, and I'm not an exception to the rule, okay?" Shawn just stared at Belle, puzzled at her outburst, and Belle returned to the stuffed animal. "I'm not," she repeated softly.  
  
Shawn stood up and lightly placed his hands on Belle's shoulders. "Belle, baby, your starting to worry me."  
  
"I'm sorry, Shawn," she sighed. "I didn't mean to yell at you."  
  
"It's okay," Shawn said, dismissing it quickly. "Something's bothering you and I'm guessing you don't know what to do about it."  
  
Belle gazed into her boyfriend's eyes with adoration and smiled. "You know me too well, Brady."  
  
"Exactly," Shawn agreed. "So don't even try one of those 'I'm just tired' excuses, because I can tell when you're lying."  
  
Belle took a deep breath and decided to just blurt it out. "Shawn, do you think I'm a tease?"  
  
Shawn furrowed his brow and tried to make sense of her words. "A...tease? Of course I don't, where the hell did you get that idea?"  
  
Belle looked down at her shoes and continued. "Cause all we've done since we've been dating is kissing. And whenever we get close to doing...other stuff, I always back off at the last second," she stammered.  
  
"Yeah, but, Belle, you're just nervous. I don't mind waiting, it'll definitely worth it. But you are in no way at all a tease," Shawn assured her. Belle smiled at what Shawn just told her but then he continued. "Where did that idea come from?"  
  
"Oh...um...I was just thinking about it last night," Belle lied.  
  
Shawn shook his head. "Belle, I told you I can tell when you're not being honest." Belle just looked to the side, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "This is about Sam, isn't it?" Shawn guessed.  
  
  
Brady pressed his knuckles against his mouth. He nervously began bouncing his leg up and down. What the hell was taking her so long?  
  
As if on cue, Heather slowly opened the bathroom door, holding the pregnancy test.   
  
Brady stood up shakily. "Well?" he asked, the back of his throat dry. "Is it positive or negative?"  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
